UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Oct 17

Oct 17 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening up 2 points to 7,170 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.

*BRITISH CORPORATE SPENDING: British companies cut spending on marketing for the first time in seven years during the third quarter, as a rocky Brexit pushed businesses to keep a tight lid on costs, a survey showed. JAVID: British finance minister Sajid Javid will promise on Thursday to launch "a decade of renewal" for the country's economy as he prepares to increase public investment after years of tight control on government spending. OF ENGLAND: The Bank of England would probably cut a capital buffer it sets for banks to zero to stimulate lending in the event of a fresh downturn in the economy, and government fiscal policy could also play a role, BoE Governor Mark Carney said. STOBART: Eddie Stobart ESLE.L said on Wednesday DBAY Advisors, its second-largest shareholder, was granted more time to make a firm takeover offer for the haulage company, but former group boss Andrew Tinkler had abandoned any buyout interest. Oil prices eased on Thursday after industry data showed a larger-than-expected build-up in stocks in the United States, although losses were limited by comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on a U.S.-China trade deal. Gold prices eased on Thursday and held below the $1,490 an ounce level, as traders refrained from making any big bets in the absence of fresh developments on the Sino-U.S. trade war front and Brexit negotiations. EX-DIVS: Bae Systems, Smiths Group (LON: SMIN ) will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 1.7 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations. Britain's mid-cap stocks index FTSE 250 .FTMC cut its losses from the morning on Wednesday and was last down marginally. UK CORPORATE DIARY:

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