April 9 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is

seen opening lower on Tuesday, with futures down 0.11%.

* BP: BP said it expects first-quarter upstream

production of both oil and gas as well as low-carbon energy to

be higher than the previous three months.

* HSBC ( HSBC ): HSBC Holdings ( HSBC ), said it will

sell its Argentina business and record a $1 billion pre-tax loss

from the divestment in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 as the

lender moves to sharpen its focus on Asia.

* IMPERIAL BRANDS ( IMBBF ): Imperial Brands ( IMBBF ) said its profit

for the first half of the year will be higher on the back of

strong tobacco pricing and increased sales of its products such

as disposable vapes.

* AVIVA: British insurer Aviva said it had

completed the 453 million pound ($573.36 million) acquisition of

AIG's UK life insurance business, sealing the largest

takeover under CEO Amanda Blanc to date.

* RETAIL SALES: An early Easter boosted food spending in

Britain last month, lifting retail sales by the most since

August, but the broader picture remained subdued as wet weather

dampened demand for other goods, the British Retail Consortium

said.

* OIL: Oil prices rose after hopes diminished that

negotiations between Israel and Hamas would lead to a ceasefire

in Gaza.

* GOLD: Gold prices rose, hovering near a record peak

hit in the previous session, supported by firm central bank

buying.

* METALS: Shanghai copper hit a record high while prices in

London hovered near their highest in 14 months, backed by

positive factory data, and hopes of rate cuts and lower output.

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please

click on:

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines

($1 = 0.7901 pounds)

(Reporting by Prerna Bedi and DhanushVignesh Babu in Bengaluru)