UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 11

(Adds futures, news items)
March 11 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 14
points higher at 6,740 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, with
futures .FFIc1 up 0.48% ahead of the cash market open.

* SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L announced former BHP CEO Andrew
Mackenzie as its next chairman to succeed Charles Holliday who will step down on
May 18. * WPP: WPP WPP.L said it would relaunch its buyback scheme immediately
after cost cuts. * ROLLS-ROYCE: Rolls-Royce plunged to a worse than expected 4 billion pound
loss in 2020. * SAVILLS: Savills SVS.L reiterated that transactional activity would
remain suppressed in the first half of 2021. * MORRISONS: Morrisons MRW.L reported a halving in annual profit as a
COVID-19-related jump in sales was more than offset by the huge extra costs of
the crisis. * MARSTON'S: Marston's MARS.L said Ralph Findlay intends to step down as
its chief executive officer after around two decades in the role. * GO-AHEAD: Go-Ahead GOG.L said it expected more people to use public
transport for work and leisure in the spring as England begins to lift its
coronavirus-led curbs. * IG GROUP: IG IGG.L posted a surge in third-quarter revenue despite a
tough comparative. * TCS GROUP: TCS Group Holding TCSq.L said its net profit rose 22% to 44.2
billion roubles in 2020. * MARKS & SPENCER: Marks & Spencer MKS.L said it would launch a wave of
guest clothing brands on its website this spring, including Hobbs, White Stuff,
Joules and Sloggi, in bid to accelerate online growth. * BHP: BHP Group BHP.AX is unlikely to make any major acquisitions in the
near-term given rocketing commodity prices, and will instead focus on
exploration and wringing more value out of existing assets, its chief executive
said. * ASTRAZENECA: European Medicines Agency said on Wednesday there was no
evidence so far linking AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN)'s AZN.L COVID-19 vaccine to illnesses in
two people who received it in Austria. * HSBC: HSBC HSBA.L will phase out its support for the coal industry in
the developed world by 2030 and in the developing world by 2040, the bank said.
* HOUSE PRICES: The slow start to 2021 for Britain's housing market
stretched into February, before finance minister Rishi Sunak announced new
measures that could revive a property boom that began after the first COVID-19
lockdown last year, a survey showed. * GOLD: Gold prices rose after softer U.S. inflation data halted an advance
in Treasury yields and the dollar. * OIL: Crude oil prices rose as vaccine rollouts bolstered the economic
outlook and U.S. fuel stocks fell sharply. * The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 0.1% lower on Wednesday as easing
inflation concerns pulled down mining and banks stocks. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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TODAY'S UK PAPERS
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