UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 18

    March 18 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening 136
points lower on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers.
    
    * HSBC: HSBC Holdings has appointed Noel Quinn as chief executive
officer, handing the insider and interim boss the reins of Europe's biggest bank
and ending months of speculation an external candidate could get the role.

    * SAINSBURY'S: British supermarket group Sainsbury's is to restrict
customer purchases to combat panic buying, close its in-store cafes and counters
and beef-up online services to get it through the coronavirus crisis, it said.
    * ECONOMY: Britain said it would launch a 330 billion-pound ($399 billion)
lifeline of loan guarantees and provide a further 20 billion pounds in tax cuts,
grants and other help for businesses facing the risk of collapse from the spread
of coronavirus.
    * CORONAVIRUS: Courts in England and Wales dealing with serious crimes will
not start trials if they are likely to last for more than three days because of
the spread of coronavirus, the head of the judiciary said on Tuesday.

    * CORONAVIRUS: The number of people in Britain who have died after testing
positive for coronavirus rose to 71 on Tuesday after another 14 deaths in
England.
    * ROYAL MAIL: Royal Mail, one of the world's oldest postal services,
said on Tuesday it was "disappointed" that 94.5% of its workers with the
Communication Workers Union (CWU) voted in favour of a strike action.

    * FINABLR: Travelex-owner Finablr warned on Tuesday it was
preparing for potential insolvency, while operations of its unit in the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) was seized by the country's central bank.
    * METALS: Most industrial metals rose on the London Metal Exchange (LME),
bouncing back from heavy losses in the previous session on hopes of a U.S.
stimulus package and as miners reduced operations in response to the coronavirus
outbreak.
    * OIL: Oil prices steadied early after sliding to their lowest in four
years, sapped by fears for fuel demand and the global economy amid travel and
social lockdowns triggered by the coronavirus epidemic in a number of countries
around the world.
    * GOLD: Gold prices inched higher as additional stimulus from the United
States eased some concerns over the economic impact of the coronavirus and
halted a trend of selling precious metals for cash, although a strong dollar
capped gains.
    * London's main share index rose on Tuesday as the U.S. Federal Reserve's
move to purchase short-term corporate debt and Britain's expected rescue package
to help coronavirus-hit businesses brought back some confidence among investors.

    
    * UK CORPORATE DIARY:
    
 Ferrexpo PLC                          Full Year 2019 Earnings Release  
 Centaur Media PLC                     Full Year 2019 Earnings Release  
 Pendragon                             Full Year 2019 Earnings Release
 WM Morrison Supermarkets              Full Year 2020 Earnings Release  
 
        
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 (Reporting by Shanima A in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)