UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Wednesday Aug 22

* Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 42-47 points, or 0.8 percent lower on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, tracking weakness on Wall Street and in Asia and reversing the previous session's rally as technical factors hold sway in the absence of much else for direction. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on

* The UK blue chip index closed up 33.15 points, or 0.6 percent on Tuesday at 5,857.52 in light summer holiday volumes, led by firmer miners and banking stocks as investors speculated as to how euro zone policy makers would tackle the region's debt crisis.

* BHP BILLITON - The global miner posted a 35 percent fall in second-half profit on Wednesday, battered by weaker commodity prices and industrial action, and said it was taking its Olympic Dam copper expansion plan back to the drawing board.

* ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND - The U.S. Federal Reserve and Department of Justice are investigating RBS for possible violations of sanctions with Iran, the Financial Times reported.

* BT, ITV - The British telecoms company is in talks with broadcaster ITV to screen English Premier League football matches live on terrestrial TV, the Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday.

* No important British economic data will be released on Wednesday, so investors will look for direction to U.S. July existing home sales, due at 1400 GMT, and the release of minutes from the last Federal Reserve FOMC meeting, although the latter is not due until after the London close at 1800 GMT.

* Ex-dividend factors will clip 2.01 points off the FTSE 100 index on Wednesday, with InterContinental Hotels, CRH, Prudential ,. ENRC, Carnival Corp., and Standard Life all trading without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts.

* UK CORPORATE DIARY:

BHP BILLITON posts full-year results.

STAGECOACH GROUP issues a trading update.

SOCO INTL unveils first-half results.

SPIRAX SARCO ENGINEERING delivers first-half results.

TT ELECTRONICS reports first-half results.

HOCHSCHILD MINING posts first-half results.

KENMARE RESOURCES reveals first-half results.

LONDON CAPITAL GROUP unveils first-half results.

CARILLION reports first-half results.

DERWENT LONDON unveils first-half results.

CLARKSON reveals first-half results.

MELROSE RESOURCES posts first-half results.

OFFICE2OFFICE delivers first-half results.

PRIMARY HEALTH PROPERTIES reports first-half results.

VITEC GROUP unveils first-half results.

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit* BridgeStation: view story .134(Reporting by Jon Hopkins; Editing by Pravin Char)