UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Weds Feb 15

LONDON Feb 15 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 10-11 points, or 0.2 percent on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, reflecting a late turnaround on Wall Street and in Asia as markets waited for Greece's final steps to implement a debt restructuring deal and avert a messy default.

Euro zone finance ministers dropped plans on Tuesday for a special face-to-face meeting on Greece's new 130 billion euro international bailout because Greece has shown little sign of meeting the deadline to provide a firm commitment to reforms.

Getting a bailout is crucial for Athens, with 14.5 billion euros in debt repayments falling due on March 20.

Euro ministers will instead hold a telephone conference call before a regular meeting already scheduled for Feb. 20.

In the meantime, a government source said on Tuesday that Greek conservative party leader Antonis Samaras is expected to deliver a letter of commitment to international lenders on Wednesday.

China will continue to invest in euro zone government debt, Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said on Wednesday, adding that Beijing remains confident in the euro and in the ability of euro zone members to solve their debt problems.

The UK blue chip index closed down 5.83 points, or 0.1 percent, on Tuesday at 5,899.87, having risen 0.9 percent on Monday, led by a move out of banks and miners into more defensive sectors after disappointing U.S. retail sales data raised concern over the strength of the economic recovery.

U.S. blue chips initially retreated on Tuesday but rallied late on to close flat, while Asian shares recovered on Wednesday, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan up 1.5 percent.

Japan's Nikkei jumped 2.3 percent to six-month highs on the Bank of Japan's surprise easing action on Tuesday.

Commodity prices were higher in Asian trade, with copper rebounding after falling in the three previous sessions, while crude rose on supply fears caused by ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

"The strong finish in the U.S. indices is expected to have positive spillover effects for the FTSE when it opens up on Wednesday. It may even help the index mount a challenge of the high for the week at 5,920.10," said James A. Hyerczyk, technical analyst at Autochartist.

"(However) with several failed rallies already in place, all the FTSE needs is to break support at either 5,920.61 or 5,839.90 to trigger a rapid acceleration to the downside, Hyerczyk added.

On the macro front, British unemployment numbers will be released at 0930 GMT, with January claimant count seen rising by 3,000, after a 1,200 increase in December, and the ILO unemployment rate is seen ticking up to 8.5 percent in December, from 8.4 percent in the previous month.

The Bank of England's latest inflation report will be released at 1030 GMT.

Commentators believe that BoE governor Mervyn King will leave the door open for further gilt purchases to boost the economy when he gives a quarterly news conference after the report's release, but they also see him resisting calls to take a more active role in encouraging bank lending.

Last week the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee voted for another 50 billion pounds of quantitative easing over the next three months, taking the total to 325 billion pounds.

In the United States, February's Empire State index will be released at 1330 GMT, with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) index for February due at 1500 GMT.

The main focus, however, will be the release of minutes from the last Federal Reserve FOMC meeting, due after the London market close at 1900 GMT.

Ex-dividend factors will knock a hefty 22.57 points off the FTSE 100 index on Wednesday, with drugmakers AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell, and consumer products group Unilever all losing their payout attractions.

* GLOBAL-Markets consolidate as EU tests Greek commitment

* US STOCKS-Shares finish flat in late rally on Greece

* Tokyo's Nikkei share average closes up 2.30 pct

* FOREX-Dollar hits 3-1/2 month high vs yen; more gains

* TREASURIES-Prices gain as retail sales disappoint

* Brent crude above $118 on Mideast supply fears

* PRECIOUS-Gold edges up, fresh Greek concerns still weigh

* METALS-Copper rebounds, eyes Greece resolution

UK stocks to watch on Wednesday are:

HSBC

The global bank is aiming to increase its presence in mainland China through an expansion of its branch network, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing the bank's chief executive Stuart Gulliver.

BP

The oil giant has won permission to explore for deepwater gas reserves in the South China Sea from China's Ministy of Commerce, the China Daily reported on Wednesday.

BLINKX

The Cambridge-based video search company added almost 14 percent on Tuesday as investors read on foreign newswires about a deal with the U.S.'s AOL to power its video search, according to the Daily Mail's market report.

MORGAN CRUCIBLE

The engineering group unveils full-year results.

DOMINO'S PIZZA

The restaurant group posts full-year results.

SPEEDY HIRE

The equipment hire firm issues a trading update.

SPORTS DIRECT INTL

The sports good retailer issues a trading update.

THORNTONS

The chocolate maker and retailer reports first-half results.

TOWN CENTRE SECURITIES

The property group delivers first-half results.

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News visit topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Jon Hopkins; Editing by David Cowell)