Aug 5 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening 2 points higher at 6,038 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures (FFIc1) up 0.5% ahead of cash markets open.
METRO BANK: Britain's Metro Bank (MTRO.L) swung to a 240 million pounds ($313.92 million) loss for the first half of the year, as provisions to cover loan losses due to the coronavirus crisis wiped out its profits.
LEGAL & GENERAL: British life insurer Legal & General (LGEN.L) posted a 2% drop in first-half operating profit.
COCA COLA HBC: Soft drinks bottler Coca Cola HBC AG (LON:CCH) said its performance recovered steadily from April lows as its markets gradually reopened from coronavirus-led lockdowns.
BATS: British American Tobacco named Guy Meldrum, the regional director of its Asia-Pacific and Middle East business, as the new head of its U.S. business, Reynolds American.
WILLIAM HILL: British gambling company William Hill (WMH.L) reported a better-than-expected first-half profit while announcing 119 of UK betting shops closed by coronavirus lockdowns would not reopen as it combines its online and retail businesses.
HASTINGS: Finnish insurer Sampo and South Africa's Rand Merchant Investment (RMI) have made a recommended cash offer worth 1.84 billion euros ($2.17 billion) to buy British auto insurer Hastings, Sampo said.
BANKS: Britain's banks took a gloomier view than almost all their European peers in their second quarter earnings.
AUTOMOBILE: British new car registrations rose by roughly 11% year-on-year in July, according to preliminary industry data for the first full month that showrooms were allowed to reopen across the United Kingdom as lockdown measures eased.
NATIONAL GRID: Britain's National Grid is planning a 10 million pound project in the north west of England to test how hydrogen could be used to heat homes and bring down greenhouse gas emissions from industry.
STANDARD LIFE ABERDEEN: Keith Skeoch, the departing boss of Standard Life Aberdeen, will become acting chairman of Britain's accounting watchdog, Sky News reported.
OIL: Oil prices fell for the first time in four days, pulling back from as much as five-month highs as mounting coronavirus cases worldwide and in the United States undercut market confidence in a pickup in fuel demand.
GOLD: Safe-haven gold scaled an all-time peak, extending a record run above the $2,000 mark on a weaker dollar and bets for more stimulus measures to revive a pandemic-ravaged economy.
The UK blue-chip index (.FTSE) ended flat on Tuesday as mixed earnings and rising friction between the United States and China weighed.
UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Coca Cola HBC (CCH.L) HY Results
SEGRO PLC (LON:SGRO) HY Results
IP Group PLC (IPO.L) HY Results
Legal & General Group PLC (LON:LGEN) HY Results
Pagegroup PLC (LON:PAGE) HY Results
William Hill PLC (LON:WMH) HY Results
Hastings Group Holdings PLC (LON:HSTG) Q2 ResultS
Metro Bank PLC (LON:MTRO) HY Results
UDG Healthcare (LON:UDG) Q3 Trading update
Ferrexpo (LON:FXPO) HY Results