UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 26

April 26 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening up 9 points on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.

* PERSIMMON: Persimmon PSN.L shareholders voted narrowly in favour of the housebuilder's controversial pay scheme for senior bosses at the British firm's annual general meeting on Wednesday. BARCLAYS: British bank Barclays BARC.L and digital payments firm PayPal PYPL.O have announced a partnership that will see them explore ways to combine their services for customers STANDARD CHARTERED: Standard Chartered Plc's STAN.L compliance head Neil Barry is under investigation by the bank pertaining to allegations of misconduct, Bloomberg reported.

* UK-AUTOS: Carmakers operating in Britain reported a fall of more than 6 percent in production in the first three months of 2018 as the industry fretted about the future of diesel vehicles and export prospects after Brexit. GOLD: Gold prices on Thursday were little changed after falling to their lowest in five weeks in the previous session, pressured by a stronger dollar, which held near more than three-month highs, and a rise in U.S. Treasury yields. OIL: Oil prices rose on Thursday, supported by an expectation that the United States will re-impose sanctions against Iran, a decline in output in Venezuela and ongoing strong demand. EX-DIVS: Antofagasta ANTO.L , Fresnillo FRES.L , Glencore GLEN.L , Legal & General LGEN.L , Relx REL.L will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 7.44 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations The UK blue chip index closed down 0.62 percent at 7,379.32 points on Wednesday, after a £64 billion bid for drug maker Shire and a fresh £22 billion offer for Sky failed to lift the UK stock market as worries about rising U.S. bond yields and corporate costs continued to weigh on global markets. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets