European Factors to Watch-Equity futures lower ahead of ECB

(Adds futures prices, company news items)

MILAN, Oct 22 (Reuters) - European stocks were seen opening slightly lower on Thursday amid caution ahead of a European Central Bank policy meeting later in the day.

Futures on the euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 STXEc1 , Germany's DAX FDXc1 , France's CAC FCEc1 and Britain's FTSE FFIc1 were all down by between 0.5-0.2 percent.

The European Central Bank is likely to keep the door open for more monetary stimulus but stop short of taking new policy steps at a meeting on Thursday as it awaits fresh indications about the outlook for euro zone inflation. ID:nL8N12L31N

"The recent rally seems to have run its course for now; and as it was mainly built on the backs of further central bank stimulus, today's ECB meeting and next weeks Fed and BoJ announcements will probably hold the key to the next leg of the markets," said London Capital Group dealer Jonathan Sudaria.

UBS and Credit Suisse could come into the spotlight after

Switzerland on Wednesday outlined tough new capital requirements for its two biggest banks.

The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index .STOXX50E gained 0.5 percent on Wednesday, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 closed little changed.

COMPANY NEWS

ROCHE ROG.VX

The world's biggest cancer drug company raised its full-year sales outlook after reporting revenue in the first nine months of the year increased more than analysts had forecast.

UBS UBSG.VX CREDIT SUISSE CSGN.VX

Switzerland on Wednesday outlined tough new capital requirements for its two biggest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, to protect the economy from a major banking collapse. UBS said on Wednesday it would meet new Swiss capital rules by the time they come into force. ID:nL8N12L4TC

CREDIT SUISSE CSGN.VX

The Swiss bank expects 2016 to be a difficult year because of its planned restructuring, Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said on Wednesday. Ted Seides, a hedge fund executive who was due to join Credit Suisse on Oct 1, sent an email to contacts on Wednesday saying he decided not to work at the Swiss bank after all.

SAFRAN SAF.PA

French aerospace group Safran reported higher-than-expected third-quarter revenue on Thursday and reaffirmed its 2015 targets, saying airlines were taking advantage of low oil prices to carry out engine overhauls. {ID:nP6N10102G]

ORANGE ORAN.PA

Orange posted higher third-quarter sales and core profit for the first time since 2009 helped by stronger results in its key market of France, prompting it to raise its annual profit target on Thursday. ID:nP6N10102H

PUBLICIS PUBP.PA

Publicis' sales slowed markedly in the third quarter, hurt by weakness in the United States where customers delayed or cut marketing projects, forcing it to cut its annual organic growth target to 1 percent from 2.5 percent. ID:nL8N12M078

PERNOD RICARD PERP.PA

French spirits group Pernod Ricard PERP.PA posted a higher-than-expected 3 percent rise in first-quarter underlying sales on Thursday, as a strong performance in the U.S. market offset still sluggish sales in China. ID:nP6N10102I

LOGITECH LOGN.S

The computer accessory maker said its second-quarter retail sales rose 12 percent in constant currency to $496 million, its best retail sales growth in almost five years, and confirmed its financial outlook for 2016. LOGN.S

VALEO VLOF.PA

French car parts maker Valeo cut its outlook for this year's automotive production growth on Wednesday, as higher growth in Europe was not seen enough to offset lower projections for the Chinese market. ID:nL8N12L4WO

DAIMLER DAIGn.DE

Daimler's third-quarter operating profit jumped by almost a third as strong demand in Europe and China coupled with new product launches spurred luxury-car sales to a record. ID:nL8N12M0SQ

VOLKSWAGEN VOWG_p.DE

Volkswagen (DE: VOWG ) said on Wednesday about 3 million cars in Europe have 1.6 litre engines, which will require hardware changes in the wake of the company's diesel emissions rigging scandal. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N12L5DC

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL RDSa.L

Australia's competition watchdog said it has postponed a final decision on Royal Dutch Shell's $70 billion takeover of BG Group BG.L by a week to November 19, following an earlier deferral in September. ID:nL3N12M1FO

BP BP.L

ICBC Financial Leasing Co, China's biggest leasing company by assets, said on Thursday it has signed an $869 million agreement with BP Shipping to lease 18 oil vessels, the first business deal between the two companies. ID:nL3N12M1L3

RIO TINTO RIO.L

Rio Tinto on Thursday came a step closer to gaining approval to expand its Warkworth coal mine in Australia after an influential panel recommended the work proceed, against the wishes of environmental and community groups. ID:nL3N12M1EH

VONOVIA VNAn.DE , DEUTSCHE WOHNEN DWNG.DE , LEG IMMOBILIEN LEGn.DE

Deutsche Wohnen has scrapped its planned acquisition of smaller domestic rival LEG because it failed to win enough shareholder support. Deutsche Wohnen also reiterated that it was not interested in being bought by Vonovia. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N12L4L3

BANKINTER BKT.MC

Spanish lender Bankinter is expected to report a 46 percent increase in net profit in the first nine months from a year earlier on Thursday, according to a Reuters poll. ID:nL8N12L20N

ABERTIS ABE.MC

Abertis said on Wednesday it had seen acceptance of 48.1 percent of its capital for its offer to buy back 6.5 percent of its own shares.

EDF EDF.PA

China's CGN has agreed to invest 6 billion pounds ($9 billion) in French utility EDF's EDF.PA Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project in Britain. ID:nU8N11M00K

EIFFAGE FOUG.PA

Bpifrance launches the disposal of part of its stake in eiffage. Disposal by bpifrance of about 2.8 mln eiffage shares, representing about 2.9 percent of eiffage share capital, through accelerated book built offering.

NORWEGIAN AIR SHUTTLE NWC.OL

Budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle expects a production growth of 18 percent in 2016, up from 5 percent this year, as it posted third-quarter operating profit roughly in line with expectations on Thursday. ID:nFWN12L05Q

> Asian shares, dollar, euro steady as markets await ECB meeting MKTS/GLOB

> Wall Street declines; Valeant, healthcare weigh .N

> Nikkei edges up as investors shift to defensive shares .T

> U.S. debt gains as stocks slip on world growth worries US/N

> Euro edges up but top-heavy as investors await ECB meeting FRX/

> Gold hovers near lowest in a week on firm dollar GOL/

> London copper edges up, better China imports support MET/L

> Oil prices move higher on weaker dollar, hold above three-week low O/R