(Adds futures, company news items)
March 10 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 futures FFIc1 were down 0.15 percent by 0727 GMT ahead of the cash market open on Thursday. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on The UK blue chip index .FTSE closed 0.3 percent higher at 6,146.32 on Wednesday, lifted by insurer Prudential PRU.L after it announced a special dividend with results that beat expectations. MORRISONS: Morrisons MRW.L , Britain's fourth biggest grocer, reported an expected fall in annual profit on Thursday, as the industry's brutal price war took its toll. HOME RETAIL: Home Retail HOME.L , the retailer at the centre of a bidding war, said sales at its Argos stores open over a year fell 1.1 percent in the eight weeks to Feb. 27, an improvement on the year overall, helped by its upgraded home delivery service. SAVILLS: International estate agent Savills SVS.L posted a 21 percent rise in pre-tax profit to a better-than-expected 121.4 million pounds ($172 million) in 2015 as it benefited from expansion across the United States and growing profitability in Europe, it said on Thursday. MICHAEL PAGE: British staff recruitment firm Michael Page MPI.L warned it had seen trading conditions worsen in China and Hong Kong as it posted a 15 percent rise in full year profit of 91 million pounds ($129 million). AVIVA: British insurer Aviva AV.L posted an above-forecast 20 percent rise in 2015 operating profit to 2.7 billion pounds ($3.83 billion) on Thursday and said its integration plans with Friends Life were ahead of schedule. ALDERMORE: Aldermore Group Plc ALD.L reported a better-than-expected increase in full-year pretax profit as the up-and-coming British bank issued more mortgages and loans to small and medium-sized businesses. LSEG: Nasdaq Inc NDAQ.O said it would buy U.S. options exchange operator International Securities Exchange for $1.1 billion from Deutsche Boerse AG DB1Gn.DE , freeing up capital for the European company to pursue it plans to potentially merge with the London Stock Exchange Group Plc LSE.L . EUROPEAN MONETARY POLICY: The European Central Bank is set to unveil its second stimulus cocktail in three months on Thursday, spurred by fears that low energy costs are feeding into wages and prices, potentially perpetuating ultra-low inflation. BRITISH PROPERTY: British property prices kept up a rapid pace of growth in February, but increases are likely to slow in the months to come as higher taxes on landlords take effect, property valuers said on Thursday. EX-DIVS: Barclays BARC.L , BHP Billiton BLT.L , CRH CRH.L , Direct Line DLGD.L , Land Securities LAND.L and Shire SHP.L will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, taking 5.8 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations. UK PAPERS
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