(Adds company news items and futures)
July 25 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen down 2 points at 7,507 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 up 0.29% ahead of the cash market open.
* UNILEVER: Consumer goods giant Unilever Plc ULVR.L , UNc.AS reported slightly weaker-than-expected quarterly underlying sales growth on Thursday, hit by wet weather in Europe and North America, and moderating growth in India. ANGLO AMERICAN: UK-based miner Anglo American AAL.L said on Thursday it was raising its dividend payout by 27% as it reported a 19% jump in core earnings in the first half of the year and said it intends to buy back up to $1 billion of stock. ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L forecast higher product sales for the whole of 2019 after its second-quarter results beat analysts' expectations on Thursday, driven by sales from cancer medicines including a near doubling of those for its Tagrisso treatment. WIZZ AIR: Low-cost airline Wizz Air WIZZ.L has raised its full-year capacity growth rate after a strong start to its financial year as some of its competitors stumble. COBHAM: U.S. private equity group Advent Internaional has agreed to buy defence and aerospace group Cobham COB.L for 4 billion pounds ($4.99 billion), the British company said on Thursday. DIAGEO: Diageo DGE.L , the world's largest spirits company, reported higher annual profit on Thursday, helped by growth across all its markets, an improved price mix and cost controls. CMC MARKETS: Online trading firm CMC Markets Plc CMCX.L said first-quarter net operating income improved from a year earlier, boosted by higher revenue per active client as traders adjusted to regulatory curbs that have plagued the sector. KINGFISHER: British home improvement retailer Kingfisher KGF.L said on Wednesday its newly appointed chief executive officer, Thierry Garnier, would join the company on Sept. 25. METRO BANK: Metro Bank MTRO.L said on Wednesday it will start the process of recruiting a replacement for its founder and chairman Vernon Hill, months after an accounting error hammered its shares, left a hole in its balance sheet and spooked customers. TELECOM FINES: A government panel on Wednesday approved a combined penalty of 30.5 billion rupees ($442 million) on telecom operators Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS and Vodafone (LON:VOD) Idea VODA.NS for not providing points of interconnection to Reliance Industries' RELI.NS telecom unit Jio when it began operations in 2016, Indian media reported. COBHAM: British engineer Cobham Plc COB.L is to be acquired by U.S. private equity firm Advent International in a deal that would value it at about 4 billion pounds ($4.99 billion) including debt, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the situation. RIO TINTO: Energy Resources Of Australia Ltd (ERA) ERA.AX said on Thursday that majority owner Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX had offered to help underwrite part of the cost of rehabilitating the Ranger Uranium Project in the Northern Territory. RYANAIR: Ryanair RYA.I cabin crew in Portugal are set to strike for five days in August in a dispute over pay and conditions, the SNPVAC union said on Wednesday. DIAGEO: Talks over pay between Diageo Plc DGE.L and two of its biggest Scottish unions fell apart on Wednesday, threatening the production of some the region's most popular whiskies. TBC BANK: Georgian prosecutors charged TBC Bank Group's TBCG.L chairman and his deputy on Wednesday with money laundering, a move the bankers said was absurd and damaged prospects for attracting investment to the country. METRO BANK RESULTS: Metro Bank's MTRO.L , the British lender, said on Wednesday that customers had pulled 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) out of the lender this year following a major accounting error in January. ROLLS ROYCE: Rolls-Royce RR.L said on Wednesday that its discussions with Indra Sistemas SA IDR.MC , which had expressed interest in acquiring a majority stake in the British group's Spanish business ITP Aero, have ended without agreement. EX-DIVS: SSE Plc SSE.L will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 2.81 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations ID:nL8N24N1MD
* The UK blue chip index closed 0.7% down at 7,501 on Wednesday as miners dragged the index owing to iron ore prices falling and luxury carmaker Aston Martin losing a quarter of its value. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/
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