UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Sept 1

(Adds futures, company news items)

Sept 1 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening down 1 point at 7429.5 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 down 0.01 percent ahead of the cash market open.

* PETROFAC: CEO of Petrofac Ltd PFC.L Ayman Asfari made over 300,000 euros ($356,760.00) on betting on a stock price drop of an oil firm after being tipped off by its boss of his resignation, financial regulators in Italy have said, The Times reported on Friday. ATLAS MARA: Atlas Mara Ltd ATMA.L , the African investment vehicle of former Barclays (LON: BARC ) boss Bob Diamond, said on Friday that Fairfax Africa now holds 42 percent of the company after it subscribed to 70.1 million new shares. SMITH & WILLIAMSON: Wealth manager Smith & Williamson (S&W) plans to pursue a potential stock listing after its merger talks with rival Rathbone Brothers RAT.L collapsed on Thursday. OIL: U.S. crude futures fell in Asian trading on Friday, partly reversing sharp gains from the previous session, amid ongoing turmoil in the oil industry with nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity offline. GOLD: Gold inched lower on Friday as mild profit-taking set in after recent rallies and as investors awaited U.S. jobs data for direction on interest rates, but safe-haven demand kept prices near 9-1/2 month highs as tensions over North Korea lingered. STORM HARVEY: A flood-hit southeast Texas city lost its drinking water supply and police and soldiers rescued thousands still stranded on Thursday after powerful storm Harvey killed 44 people and displaced more than a million on the Gulf Coast. STORM LIDIA: Tropical Storm Lidia lashed the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula with heavy rain and high winds as it barreled through the popular tourist resorts of Los Cabos on Thursday evening, authorities said. U.S. ECONOMY: U.S. job growth likely slowed in August after two straight months of robust gains, but the pace of increase should be more than sufficient for the Federal Reserve to announce a plan to start trimming its massive bond portfolio. The UK blue chip index closed 0.9 percent higher at 7430.62 points on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session as support from commodities-related stocks and financials helped the blue-chip index score its second consecutive monthly gain. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets