April 23 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening 25 points lower at 5,746 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers. * ROYAL DUTCH SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell has postponed decisions on whether to go ahead with two large oil and gas developments in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea after oil prices collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis, a company source said on Wednesday. * Currency service provider Travelex has put itself up for sale, the London-based company said on Wednesday, a month after parent Finablr warned that it was preparing for a potential insolvency. * Telecom Italia (TIM) and Vodafone said on Wednesday they had agreed to launch the sale of an 8% stake in Italy's biggest mobile tower company INWIT on a pro-rata basis as part of their efforts to cut debt. * GOLD: Gold eased on Thursday as investors booked profits from a near 2% rally in the previous session, while U.S. stimulus measures to ease the economic blow from the coronavirus outbreak limited losses and kept prices above $1,700 an ounce. * OIL: Oil extended gains on Thursday amid signs that producers are cutting production to cope with a collapse in demand for fuel as the coronavirus outbreak ravages the world's economies. * EX-DIVS: Intercontinental Hotels, Mondi, Melrose , Phoenix Group Holdings, Standard Life Aberdeen, Smith & Nephew and Taylor Wimpey will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 5.05 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations. * The UK blue-chip index closed up 2.3% on Wednesday a 6% rally in energy majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell and positive corporate updates injected calm into equity markets after an oil-driven rout. * UK CORPORATE DIARY: NMCN Plc FY 2019 earnings release RDI Reit Plc HY 2020 earnings release Luceco Plc FY 2019 earnings release Alfa Financial Software FY 2019 earnings release Anglo American Plc Q1 2020 production report Meggitt Plc Q1 2020 trading statement MPH SE Q1 2020 pre-close trading statement Unilever Plc Q1 2020 trading statement Relx Plc Q1 2020 trading statement Taylor Wimpey Trading statement Tullow Oil Trading statement * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines (Reporting by Samantha Machado in Bengaluru)
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