June 19 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is

seen opening higher on Thursday, with futures up 0.2%.

* SHELL: Shell CEO Wael Sawan said on Thursday the

oil and gas major was being "very careful" with its shipping

through the Middle East given the escalating conflict between

Israel and Iran.

* RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto, agreed to

pay$138.75 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the

Anglo-Australian mining giant of defrauding investors by

concealing problems with its $7 billion underground expansion of

the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia.

* ELI LILLY ( LLY ): Eli Lilly ( LLY ) said on Thursday it would

appeal against a UK agency's recommendation to not reimburse the

cost of Alzheimer's drug Kisunla, blocking access for patients

seeking treatment under the country's state-run health service.

* BoE: Britain's central bank looks set to keep interest

rates on hold on Thursday as it waits to see if the economy and

inflation continue to weaken, or whether the country will be hit

by an energy price shock from the Israel-Iran conflict.

* COMMODITIES: Oil prices fell, copper prices on the

Shanghai Futures Exchange and London Metal Exchange were largely

flat, and gold prices gained on Thursday

* EX-DIVS: Compass Group ( CMPGF ), 3i Group ( TGOPF ), Experian ( EXPGF )

, United Utilities Group, Airtel Africa ( AAFRF ),

Persimmon will trade without entitlement to its latest

dividend pay-out on Thursday.

* FTSE: Britain's FTSE 100 rose on Wednesday as

investors weighed the last domestic inflation reading ahead of

key central bank meetings in the U.S. and the UK, though Middle

East tensions tempered market optimism.

* UK CORPORATE DIARY:

Whitbread ( WTBCF ) Q1 trading

update

United Capital

Utilities Markets

Group Day

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please

click on:

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines

(Compiled by Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru)