Dec 13 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen to open 17
points lower at 7,309.8 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers. 
    
    * THOMAS COOK: Air Berlin's administrator said renewed talks with
Thomas Cook have not led to a sustainable offer for the insolvent
carrier's Austria-based Niki unit.
    * OIL: Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday as industry data
showed a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude stockpiles.
    * Gold prices were almost unchanged on Wednesday after hitting their lowest
in nearly five months in the previous session, with investors in 'wait-and-see'
mode ahead of the outcome of a two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal
Reserve.
    * COPPER: London copper trading was little changed on Wednesday, as volumes
thinned throughout the complex in the lead-up to holidays and ahead of a U.S.
monetary policy meeting which may spell out higher interest rates.
    * BRITAIN-EU: Prime Minister Theresa May's control of the Brexit process
will undergo its stiffest parliamentary test yet on Wednesday, when she faces a
showdown with rebels in her own party over the laws that will take Britain out
of the European Union.
    * The UK blue chip index closed up 0.63 percent at 7500.79 points, on
Tuesday, as rising oil prices boosted energy stocks and the pound retreated,
even though British UK inflation rose to its highest in six years.
    * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
    
    * UK CORPORATE DIARY:    
 Cohort PLC                            Half Year 2018 Earnings Release
 Purplebricks Group PLC                Half Year 2018 Earnings Release
 Dixons Carphone PLC                   Half Year 2018 Earnings Release
 John Wood Group PLC                   Pre-close Trading Update Release
       
    TODAY'S UK PAPERS
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 (Reporting by Harish Bhaskar)