UPDATE 1-Unilever, BAT push FTSE 100 higher For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window FTSE 100 up 0.4%, FTSE 250 off 0.3% Gold miners lead declines, Centamin weighs on sector Unilever surges after H1 profit beat Updated at 1614 GMT By Purvi Agarwal and Roshan Abraham July 25 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 ended higher on Thursday after upbeat earnings from Unilever and British American Tobacco helped counter losses in precious meta

BUZZ-UK's Centrica tumbles on lower interim profit ** Shares of British energy supplier Centrica CNA.L down 9.5% at 129.5p, among top losers in London's FTSE 250 index .FTMC ** Co reports fall in first-half adjusted operating profit with profits at retail arm British Gas dropping due to lower energy prices and without a one-off payment seen in the

UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on July 25 Adds new items, updates futures July 25 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening lower on Thursday, with futures FFIc1 down 0.6%. * ASTRAZENECA: Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L raised its sales and profit forecasts for 2024 and topped analyst expectations for second-quarter revenue, buoyed by demand for its therapies for cancer and rare diseases.

UPDATE 2-UK's Centrica posts lower interim profit as British Gas profits fall Updates throughout with detail, comment By Susanna Twidale July 25 (Reuters) - Britain's Centrica CNA.L reported a fall in first-half adjusted operating profit on Thursday with profits at retail arm British Gas dropping due to lower energy prices and without a one off payment seen the previous year.

BRIEF-Centrica Sees H2 Net Cash To Decline July 25 (Reuters) - Centrica PLC CNA.L : HALF-YEAR REPORT GROUP PROFITABILITY TO BE HEAVILY WEIGHTED TO THE FIRST HALF OF 2024 GROUP NET CASH EXPECTED TO DECLINE IN THE SECOND HALF ALL RETAIL ENERGY SUPPLY AND OPTIMISATION BUSINESSES TO BE WITHIN THEIR MEDIUM-TERM SUSTAINABLE ADJUSTED OPERATING PROFIT RANG