Oct 28 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 27 points lower at 5,702 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers.
* ASTON MARTIN: Daimler DAIGn.DE unit Mercedes-Benz is to lift its stake in Britain's Aston Martin AML.L to up to 20% by 2023, making it one of the struggling British carmaker's largest shareholders, Aston said.
* UNILEVER: Unilever's UNA.AS, ULVR.L boards have decided to proceed with the consumer goods giant's plans to unify its Anglo-Dutch corporate structure into a single entity based in London.
* X5: Russia's largest food retailer X5 PJPq.L is putting its digital businesses at the heart of a new strategy as it expects the online retail market to grow by over 300% in the next three years, spurred on by the impact of the pandemic.
* GOLD: Gold prices were little changed, staying above the $1,900-mark, as uncertainties about U.S. elections and surging global COVID-19 cases countered pressure from a firmer dollar and fading hopes of an immediate U.S. stimulus package.
* OIL: Oil prices slid about 2% giving up most of the previous day's gains, as a surge in U.S. crude stocks and growing coronavirus infections in the United States and Europe fanned fears of a supply glut in oil and weaker fuel demand.
* The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 1.1% lower on Tuesday as worries about fresh COVID-19 curbs across parts of England offset the impact of progress in Brexit talks and of positive results from Europe's biggest bank HSBC.
* UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Next Plc
NXT.L
Q3 trading statement
Elementis Plc
ELM.L
Q3 trading statement
GlaxoSmithKline Plc
GSK.L
Q3 earnings
Santandar UK Plc
SANS_pa.L
Q3 earnings
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/
TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times PRESS/FT > Other business headlines PRESS/GB
(Reporting by Priyanshi Mandhan)
((Priyanshi.Mandhan@thomsonreuters.com;))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.