Nov 21 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100  .FTSE  index is seen opening 31
points lower at 7,231 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.
    
    * RYANAIR: A Spanish court on Wednesday ruled budget carrier Ryanair's
 RYA.I  policy of charging a fee for hand luggage was "abusive" and could no
longer be levied in Spain.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2805BT
    * DIRECT LINE: Direct Line Insurance Group Plc  DLGD.L  on Wednesday laid
out a plan to cut expenses and bolster digital presence as Britain's biggest
motor insurer looks to thrive in an industry plagued by stagnant prices and
stinging competition.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2803YG
    * OIL: Oil prices retreated on Thursday after gaining more than 2% in the
previous session on bullish U.S. crude inventory data, as a fresh spat over Hong
Kong fuelled concerns of a further delay in any U.S.-China trade deal.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2810LV  
    * GOLD: Gold prices inched up on Thursday, supported by concerns that U.S.
bills on Hong Kong could increase tensions between the United States and China
and delay an interim trade deal.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2810QG
    * EX-DIVS: Carnival  CCL.L   CCL.N , DCC  DCC.L , Imperial Brands  IMB.L 
and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust  SMT.L  will trade without entitlement to
its latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 3.3 points off the FTSE 100
according to Reuters calculations.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N27Y3SP 
    * The UK blue chip index lost 0.8% on Wednesday after three sessions of
gains as flaring tensions between China and the United States cast doubt over
prospects of a trade deal and retailer Kingfisher slumped 7% following
disappointing quarterly sales.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2802J9
    
    * UK CORPORATE DIARY:    
 Naked Wines PLC                    WINEW.L   Half Year 2020 Earnings
 Johnson Matthey PLC                JMAT.L    Half Year 2020 Earnings 
 Euromoney Institutional Investor   ERM.L     Full Year 2019 Earnings 
 Charles Stanley Group PLC          CAY.L     Half Year 2020 Earnings 
 First Property Group PLC           FSTP.L    Half Year 2019 Earnings 
 CMC Markets PLC                    CMCX.L    Half Year 2020 Earnings 
 Centrica PLC                       CNA.L     Q3 2019 Trading Statement
 Severn Trent PLC                   SVT.L     Half Year 2020 Earnings 
 Mitie Group PLC                    MTO.L     Half Year 2020 Earnings 
 CLS Holdings PLC                   CLSH.L    Trading Statement 
 Investec PLC                       INVP.L    Half Year 2020 Earnings 
 William Hill PLC                   WMH.L     Trading Statement 
 Royal Mail PLC                     RMG.L     Half Year 2020 Earnings 
 Rotork PLC                         ROR.L     Trading Statement 
 Newriver Reit PLC                  NRRT.L    Half Year 2020 Earnings 
   
    * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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    TODAY'S UK PAPERS
    > Financial Times                       PRESS/FT 
    > Other business headlines              PRESS/GB 

 (Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru)
 ((tanishaa.nadkar@thomsonreuters.com; Within UK +44 20 7542 1810; Outside UK
+91 80 6749 1691; Twitter: @TanishaaNadkar;))