* KAZ MINERALS: Kaz Minerals, a copper firm focused on mining in Kazakhstan, narrowed its full-year output guidance on Thursday to 235,000-260,000 tonnes from 225,000-260,000 tonnes, after first-half output more than doubled to 118,000 tonnes.

* KINGFISHER: Kingfisher, Europe's largest home improvement retailer, reported another fall in quarterly sales on Thursday, hurt by weak French markets, a slowdown at its B&Q business in the UK and continued disruption from its restructuring plan.

* CENTRICA: The Energy & Utilities Alliance, a group of energy companies, is pressing a Parliamentary inquiry into the consequences of the closure of Centrica Plc's Rough storage site off the Yorkshire coast, Financial Times reported on Thursday. (http://on.ft.com/2wR3YAF)

* METALS: A broad-based rally in metals extended on Thursday to new multi-year peaks for London aluminium, copper and zinc, on expectations that China's reform of its metals industry will curb supply against a background of robust demand.

* IRON-ORE: Chinese steel futures jumped more than 2 percent on Thursday to end a four-day losing streak amid a firm outlook for demand in the world's top consumer, fuelling a rally in steelmaking raw materials iron-ore and coking coal.

* GOLD: Gold rose on Thursday as the dollar remained subdued after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's July meeting hinted at a delay in further rate hikes, while palladium hit a fresh 16-year high.

* EX-DIVS: Ashtead Group, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Legal & General, Merlin, Pearson , Reckitt Benckiser, Schroders, Segro will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 9.64 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations.

* The UK blue chip index closed 0.7 percent higher at 7,433.03 on Wednesday, boosted by gains among mining firms, though car insurer Admiral Group plummeted after reporting half-year results.

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

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> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : http://topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Justin George Varghese)