UK Stocks-Factors to watch on August 18

Aug 18 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening higher on Monday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.2%.

BARCLAYS: British lender Barclays BARC.L is selling Thames Water debt worth 236 million pounds ($319.9 million), Bloomberg News reported on Friday, as the struggling water utility risks being placed into special administration if it were to collapse.

STANDARD CHARTERED: Standard Chartered STAN.L shares fell nearly 9% on Friday after a U.S. Republican lawmaker wrote to the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, asking for a probe to be launched into the bank, claiming it was involved in sanctions evasion.

TESLA: British motorists can now lease a Tesla TSLA.O electric vehicle for just over half of what they would have paid a year ago, The Times reported on Monday, citing industry sources.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Britain will extend discounts for electric vans and trucks, the UK government said in a statement on Monday.

HOUSE PRICES: Asking prices for newly advertised British houses and apartments fell in the four weeks to mid-August but the drop was less notable than in the previous two months and sales in July were their highest for the time of year since 2020, a survey showed.

COMMODITIES: Oil prices were largely unchanged, gold rose after hitting a two-week low, and aluminium prices in Shanghai and London slid on Monday.

FTSE: British stock indexes were led lower by financial shares on Friday after a U.S. lawmaker called for an investigation into Standard Chartered bank, pointing to sanctions violations.

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