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Oct 4 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 10 points lower at 7,500 according to financial bookmakers with FTSE 100 futures .FFIc1 down 0.38 percent on Thursday ahead of the cash market open, according to financial bookmakers.
* TED BAKER: British clothing and accessories retailer Ted Baker TED.L posted a 3.5 percent rise in half-year revenue on Thursday, helped by a significant uptick in online sales. ELECTROCOMPONENTS: UK's largest industrial distribution firm, Electrocomponents Plc ECM.L , on Thursday guided for a 27 percent jump in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit, led by strong growth in digital revenue. SKY: Comcast CMCSA.O said it had secured over 75 percent of Sky's SKYB.L shares, bringing it closer to finalising the $40 billion takeover of the British pay TV group.
* SMITHS GROUP: Smiths Group SMIN.L will buy United Flexible Inc, a maker of products for the aerospace and defence sectors, from private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners for an enterprise value of $345 million, the British engineering group said on Thursday. ELECTRA PRIVATE EQUITY: Electra Private Equity ELTA.L , the firm which owns TGI Fridays, is to consult investors on a sell-off of the restaurant chain as part of a broader plan to wind up the company and return investor cash amid challenging trading conditions. DFS FURNITURE: British sofa specialist DFS Furniture DFSD.L on Thursday reported a significant drop in full-year pre-tax profit, hurt by a summer heat wave in its final quarter and an "exceptional downturn" in consumer demand. GLENCORE: Global miner Glencore GLEN.L and Japan's Tohoku Electric Power 9504.T agreed on a price of $109.77 per tonne for supplies of thermal coal from Australia for the year through September 2019, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. BHP: China's overseas expansion will spread over land that is home to more than half the world's population, potentially boosting copper use by 1.6 million tonnes, or roughly 7 percent of annual demand, major miner BHP BHP.AX , BLT.L said on Thursday. GOLD: Gold prices moved in a narrow range on Thursday after losses in the previous session, with robust U.S. economic data and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve policymakers boosting the dollar. OIL: Oil prices on Thursday fell from four-year highs reached the previous session, pressured by rising U.S. inventories and after sources said Russia and Saudi Arabia struck a private deal in September to raise crude output. The UK blue chip index closed up 0.5 percent to 7,510.28 points on Wednesday as the pound held its ground after an appeal for party unity from Prime Minister Theresa May over her Brexit plan, while Tesco (LON:TSCO) had its worst trading day in four years after a disappointing update. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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