UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept. 8

LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening about 4 points higher, or up 0.1 percent, on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on ID:nL5N11E0A1

* Futures for the index FFIc1 were up 0.3 percent by 0644 GMT.

* The UK blue chip index closed 0.5 percent higher at 6,074.52 points in the previous session.

* BETFAIR BETF.L , PADDY POWER PLSA.I - Betfair and Irish rival Paddy Power have agreed on a 5 billion pound ($7.7 billion) merger in a bid to secure leadership of Britain's highly competitive online gambling market. ID:nFWN11E00E

* AMLIN AML.L - MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc 8725.T said it is in talks to buy UK rival Amlin , the fourth multi-billion deal in as many months by Japanese insurers aggressively expanding overseas. ID:nL4N11D39Q

* RSA INSURANCE GROUP RSA.L - The company said it would sell its Latin American operations to the insurance arm of Colombia's GrupoSura SIS.CN for about 403 million pounds ($617 million) in cash. ID:nL4N11E29Q

* British retail spending stagnated last month as mixed weather and the later-than-usual date of a public holiday dampened sales of furniture and school clothing and equipment. ID:nU8N0XO00G

* British Prime Minister David Cameron suffered an embarrassing defeat in parliament on Monday after Eurosceptic members of his Conservatives joined forces with opposition lawmakers to reject proposed rules for a European Union membership referendum. ID:nL5N11D3GD

* ASHMORE GROUP ASHM.L - The company reported a rise in profit and revenue even as its assets under management (AuM) fell to $58.9 billion at the end of June, from $75 billion a year ago. ID:nFWN11C025

* REDROW RDW.L - British housebuilder Redrow exceeded expectations on Tuesday as it posted a 53 percent rise in full-year pretax profit, spurred on by the government's "help to buy" scheme designed to help younger and first-time buyers purchase a property. ID:nASN0009X1

* HIKMA PHARMACEUTICAL HIK.L - The drugmaker said it would buy nearly the entire share capital of EIMC United Pharmaceuticals, a drugmaker specialising in oncology products, from a consortium of shareholders to strengthen its position in the Egyptian market. ID:nL4N11E2GZ

* PUNCH TAVERNS PLC PUB.L - The company said it would sell its 50 percent stake in UK-based drinks wholesaler Matthew Clark to Conviviality Brands for 100.7 million pounds ($154.50 million) in cash. ID:nL4N11E2HD

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

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