UK Stocks -- Factors to watch on Nov 12

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE is seen opening
between 9 and 11 points lower, or down 0.2 percent, according to financial
bookmakers, reversing the previous session's gains as investors look set to book
profits after substantial gains on the index so far this week.

The FTSE ended 0.7 percent higher on Wednesday, and touched an intra-day
high at levels not seen since September 2008, after a jump in Chinese factory
growth and reassuring UK unemployment numbers spurred demand for riskier assets.

The index is up 2.4 percent so far this week and is on track to post its
best weekly gain since mid October.

Weakness on the FTSE is seen mirroring falls in Asia. Meanwhile on Wall
Street overnight shares hit fresh 13-month highs, seen as offering some support
to the FTSE.

A raft of corporate results from UK companies is seen giving direction to
shares in the absence of any significant economic data from Britain on Thursday.

Data set for release from across the Atlantic include the U.S. Mortgage
Bankers Association (MBA) mortgage market index at 1200 GMT and the U.S. weekly
jobless claims at 1330 GMT.

* GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia shares edge higher, gold hits record [ID:nSP34627]

* US STOCKS-Market gains on homebuilder forecast, China data [ID:nN11362394]

* Nikkei falls 0.7 pct; Nippon Yusen, shippers slide [ID:nT3458]

* Dlr near lows, Aussie hits 15-mth high after data [ID:nT373230]

* TREASURIES-Prices steady after 10Y note sale [ID:nN10329161]

* Oil steady above $79; eyes on U.S. data, dollar [ID:nSP198800]

* PRECIOUS-Gold hits record above $1,120/oz on weaker dlr [ID:nT209827]

* METALS-Copper steady on China data, weak dollar [ID:nSHA330420]

UK stocks to watch on Thursday are:

BHP BILLITON (BLT.L) & RIO TINTO (RIO.L)

Western Australia state has raised the stakes in its demand for higher
royalties from iron ore miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, telling them that it
would not rubber-stamp their planned iron ore merger. [ID:nSYD466637]

Meanwhile, China has extended by two months a commercial espionage
investigation into Rio Tinto mining executive Stern Hu, Australian Foreign
Minister Stephen Smith said. [ID:nSP445794]

VEDANTA RESOURCES (VED.L)

A strike over wages by workers at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a unit of
London-listed Vedanta Resources, halted most units at the facility in Zambia on
Wednesday, the company said [ID:nLB669456]

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (RBS.L)

The bank will make a A$1.5 billion bid ($1.40 billion) for Australian
investment firm Babcock & Brown Infrastructure (BBI) BBI.AX, taking aim at a
rival Canadian proposal, the Australian Financial Review said on Thursday.
[ID:nSYD444347]

BANKS

Governments may take up to seven years to sell stakes in banks bailed out
during the financial crisis, due to complexity of rescue deals and an
unattractive disposal environment, PricewaterhouseCoopers said. [IDnLB188971]

BRITISH AIRWAYS (BAY.L)

British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia (IBLA.MC) could announce a merger
agreement as early as this week, Sky News reported [ID:nLB612983]

EURASIAN NATURAL RESOURCES (ENRC.L)

The miner releases third-quarter output numbers.

BT GROUP (BT.L)

The telecommunications firm reports second-quarter results.

SERCO GROUP (SRP.L)

The support services group releases a trading update.

CENTRICA (CNA.L)

The utility firm releases a trading update.

REED ELSEVIER (REL.L)

The publisher releases a trading update.

3I GROUP (III.L)

The private equity firm reports first-half results.

AMEC (AMEC.L)

The oil services group releases a trading update.

WH SMITH (SMWH.L)

The retailer releases a trading update.

TRINITY MIRROR (TNI.L)

The newspaper publisher releases a trading update.

AVEVA (AVV.L)

The enginnering software group reports first-half results.

LADBROKES (LAD.L)

The bookmaker releases a trading update.

DAIRY CREST GROUP (DCG.L)

The firm reports first-half results.

GALIFORM (GFRM.L)

The kitchen supplier releases a trading update.

HIKMA PHARMACEUTICAL (HIK.L)

The drugs company releases a trading update.

SIG (SHI.L)

The building materials maker releases a trading update.

KELLER GROUP (KLR.L)

The engineer releases a trading update.

SYNERGY HEALTH (SYR.L)

The health services firm reports first-half results.

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(Reporting by Harpreet Bhal)