Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on Aug 8

ZURICH Aug 8 (Reuters) - Swiss stocks were expected to open slightly lower on Wednesday, in line with other European indexes as investors remained guarded over the euro zone's ongoing debt crisis.

The blue-chip SMI was indicated 0.1 percent lower at 6,450 points, according to pre-market data by bank Julius Baer.

The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Wednesday:

Swisscom

Swisscom lowered its full-year sales guidance due to the strong Swiss franc against the euro, but said it would keep its dividend unchanged at 22 Swiss francs ($22.74) per share if targets are met.

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Bank of America Merrill Lynch has poached UBS's Asia mergers-and-acquisitions head Stephen Gore to helm its M&A unit for the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

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COMPANY STATEMENTS

* DKSH said first-half profit after tax increased by 23.6 percent to 81 million Swiss francs ($83.73 million) on a 16 percent rise in sales to 4.2 billion francs, and backed its positive outlook.

* Kuoni said following the acquisition of Gullivers Travel Associates in May 2011 and the introduction of the new group structure in October 2011, reporting for the 2012 financial year will be based on its new organizational structure.

* ADB said its first-half loss narrowed on revenue of 214 million dollars, an increase of 24.5 percent from 172 million dollars recorded in the same period of the last year.

* Precious Woods Holding director Rudolf Wehrli to step down from the board following his nomination to become the new chairman of Economiesuisse.

ECONOMY

The Swiss consumer sentiment index slipped to -17 points in the third quarter from -8 points in the previous quarter, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said on Wednesday.

($1 = 0.9674 Swiss francs)