UPDATE 3-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Oct 24

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Oct 24 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening up 20 points, or 0.3 percent, on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 up 0.5 percent ahead of the cash market open.

* The UK blue chip index closed down 0.09 percent at 7,020.47 points on Friday after hitting a one-week high, with stronger miners following a rally in metals prices offsetting weaker companies such as British American Tobacco BATS.L . GSK: GlaxoSmithKline GSK.L said on Monday it had filed its shingles vaccine, Shingrix, for U.S. regulatory approval, bringing the potential blockbuster a step closer to market. COBHAM: British aerospace and defence company Cobham COB.L downgraded its profit forecast for the second time this year after a continued weak performance in its communications unit. MICROSOFT UK PRICES: Microsoft Corp MSFT.O said it will be increasing pricing for its enterprise software and cloud services in the UK in the wake of the sterling's plunge since Britons voted to leave the EU. VODAFONE: India's telecoms regulator on Friday recommended the top three network operators be fined a combined 30.5 billion rupees ($455 million), saying they were denying new entrant Reliance Jio sufficient interconnection points. One of the top operators is Vodafone Plc's VOD.L India subsidiary. FRENCH CONNECTION: French Connection Group Plc FCCN.L , the fashion retailer that recently reported its fifth consecutive year of losses, is being circled by overseas retail investors and private equity firms, with interested buyers thought to include U.S. firm Neuberger Berman and Rutland Partners, the Telegraph reported on Sunday. French Connection declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. PETRA DIAMONDS: Diamond miner Petra Diamonds Ltd PDL.L reported a 30 percent rise in first-quarter production, boosted by strong output at its Cullinan mine in South Africa. BRITISH BANKS: Britain's major banks are set to report stronger-than-expected results this week, confounding expectations that political and economic upheaval caused by the vote to quit the European Union would immediately squeeze profits. BRITISH EQUITIES: JP Morgan Cazenove has downgraded its position on British stocks while upgrading euro zone equities, citing negative pressures on British equities from rising gilt yields as one of its main reasons. UK TAX: Britain could slash corporation tax to 10 percent if the European Union refuses to agree a post-Brexit free trade deal or blocks UK-based banks from accessing its market, the Sunday Times reported, citing an unidentified source. BREXIT: Big international banks are preparing to move some of their operations out of Britain in early 2017 due to the uncertainty over the country's future relationship with the European Union, a top banking official said.. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets