Aug 28 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is

seen opening higher on Thursday, with futures up 0.1%.

* BARCLAYS ( BCS ): Barclays ( BCS ) said on Thursday that it has

sold its stake in joint venture Entercard Group to partner

Swedbank AB at book value, estimated at 2.6 billion

crowns ($273.2 million) as of March 31.

* NEXT 15: Next 15 said it will permanently cease

operations at its U.S.-based venture-building firm Mach49, which

has been under scrutiny for "serious misconduct".

* DRAX GROUP ( DRXGF ): Drax Group ( DRXGF ) said Britain's financial

watchdog is probing its biomass sourcing statements and the

compliance of its 2021-2023 annual reports with financial

discloure rules, covering the period from January 2022 to March

2024.

* GSK: Britain's medicines regulator said on Thursday it

approved GSK's Blujepa, an antibiotic pill, to treat

uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in females aged 12

and older.

* BP: BP's 440,000-barrel-per-day refinery in

Whiting, Indiana, is back to operating at normal rates after

taking multiple units offline due to a severe thunderstorm last

week, industry monitor IIR said.

* ELI LILLY ( LLY ): Eli Lilly ( LLY ) has temporarily paused

shipments of its weight-loss drug Mounjaro in the UK, ahead of a

new price hike for the treatment set to come into effect

starting next month.

* COMMODITIES: Oil prices fell, and gold prices inched lower

on Thursday.

* EX-DIVS: Auto Trader Group, Games Workshop Group ( GMWKF )

, Alliance Witan, LondonMetric Property

, and Croda International ( COIHF ) will trade without

entitlement to its latest dividend pay-out on Thursday.

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please

click on:

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines

(Compiled by Tuhina and Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru)