Oct 2 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is

seen opening higher, with futures up 0.2%.

* JD SPORTS: British sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion

beat a consensus forecast for first-half profit and said

it was on track to meet annual guidance, showing its multi-brand

strategy working at a time when Nike ( NKE ) is struggling.

* SAGA: British holiday group Saga said that it is

in talks with Belgian insurer Ageas for a potential

partnership for its insurance business.

* AO WORLD: UK online electricals retailer AO World

said it would buy the retailer of used smartphones and

electronic products musicMagpie for about 10 million

pounds ($13.3 million) to boost its mobile and consumer tech

businesses.

* BARCLAYS ( JJCTF ): Barclays Bank PLC has agreed to pay $4 million

to settle civil charges that it violated U.S. law and Commodity

Futures Trading Commission regulations requiring accurate and

timely reporting of swap transactions, the CFTC said in a

statement.

* OIL: Oil prices jumped by over a dollar on Wednesday due

to rising concerns Middle East tensions could escalate,

potentially disrupting crude output from the region, following

Iran's biggest ever military blow against Israel.

* METALS: Copper prices gained on Wednesday as China's

stimulus measures brightened demand prospects, while rising oil

prices due to the escalating Middle East conflict also lent

support to the market.

* GOLD: Gold prices were flat, as a firmer dollar partially

offset safe-heaven demand amid heightened Middle East tensions,

while investors awaited U.S. data for further economic cues.

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please

click on:

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia and DhanushVignesh Babu in

Bengaluru)