Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on Jan 8

ZURICH Jan 8 (Reuters) - Swiss shares were set to open firmer on Friday, in line with other markets across Europe and mirroring gains in Asia.

The Swiss blue-chip index SMI.SSMI was indicated to open 26 points higher at 6,581 points, premarket data provided by bank Clariden Leu showed.CLPRE.

The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Friday:

NOVARTIS(NOVN.VX)

The United States has not made a decision on whether to cancel or sell any of its orders for the H1N1 vaccine, unlike some countries in Europe, a federal health official said on Thursday.

The U.S. government has paid for 251 million doses of bulk vaccine from five makers -- Glaxo, AstraZeneca(AZN.L), Sanofi-Aventis(SASY.PA), Novartis and CSL Ltd (CSL.AX).

For related news, click on [NOVN.VX]

ABB (ABBN.VX)

An assembly line worker armed with a rifle who had a pending lawsuit against electrical products company ABB Power killed three co-workers and wounded five others on Thursday before killing himself, police said.

For related news, click on [ABBN.VX]

ZURICH FINANCIAL(ZURN.VX), SWISS RE RUKN.VX

Advocacy group Ethos said Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services and reinsurer Swiss Re accepted to pro-actively submit their remuneration system/report to an advisory vote of the shareholders at their 2010 annual general meeting.

Ethos' resolution will still be maintained on the agenda of the annual meetings of Novartis (NOVN.VX) and Holcim(HOLN.VX), the group said.

For related news, click on [ZURN.VX] or [RUKN.VX]

ECONOMY [M-CH]

Unemployment in Switzerland rose to the highest level in nearly 12 years in December as companies continued to cut jobs despite the economic recovery, highlighting the bumpy road ahead for the Alpine economy. ECONCH

COMPANY STATEMENTS [CNR-CH]

* Daetwyler (DAE.S) says it completed the acquisition of Reichelt Elektronik [DAE.S]

* Global Natural Resources Holding AGGNR.S provided updated information on share transactions [GNR.S]

* Ascom (ASCN.S) says it received a substantial order from the Israel Railways (ISR) in a consortium together with the Israeli company Eurocom [ASCN.S]

EQUITY RESEARCH [CH-RCH]

* Credit Suisse cuts Basilea Pharmaceutica AG (BSLN.S) price target to 53 Swiss francs from 88 Swiss francs; rating neutral

* BOFA Merrill raises Temenos(TEMN.S) price target to sfr 35; rating buy [TEMN.S]

FOR COMPANIES TRADING EX-DIVIDEND, PLEASE CLICK ON:

.EX.S for all Swiss stocks

.EXSMI.S for blue chips

.EXNSMI.S for other stocks