May 28 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen...

May 28 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 42 points higher on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.

• ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L is testing one of its diabetes drugs as a treatment for COVID-19.
• IWG: IWG Plc IWG.L intends to raise about 315 million pounds by issuing new shares, the British office space provider said on Wednesday.
• RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto Plc (RIO) RIO.L said on Wednesday it has developed a process to extract the rare earth scandium from its titanium dioxide production process.

• ECONOMY: Britain's economy is at risk of taking longer to recover from the impact of the coronavirus than in the main scenario published by the Bank of England earlier this month, Governor Andrew Bailey said on Wednesday.
• HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE: An international hydroxychloroquine trial led by the University of Oxford has been paused, Britain's pharmaceutical regulator said on Wednesday.
• JOBS: British employers turned a bit less pessimistic about hiring and investment this month as the government moved to relax its coronavirus lockdown of much of the economy, according to a survey published by a recruiting industry body.

• GOLD: Gold edged up after hitting a two-week low in the previous session as the rift between Washington and Beijing over Hong Kong escalated.
• METALS: Copper prices in London rose on hopes of increasing demand for the red metal as more countries around the world restarted their economies following months-long lockdowns.
• London-listed stocks notched up their strongest close since early March on Wednesday amid sustained hopes of an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
• UK CORPORATE DIARY: PayPoint PAYP.L FY Earnings Daily Mail and General Trust DMGOa.L HY Earnings

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