LIVE MARKETS-Cars ratings improving, but shares down

* Stocks fall as U.S., China spar over COVID origin

* Auto, oil & gas sectors biggest losers

* Shares in Thyssenkrupp, Rolls Royce tumble Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters. You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan (thyagaraju.adinarayan@thomsonreuters.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London and Stefano Rebaudo (stefano.rebaudo@thomsonreuters.com) in Milan.

CARS RATINGS IMPROVING, BUT SHARES DOWN (1120 GMT)

Risk-off mood is dragging down the European auto sector, which lost 5.5%. Meantime, shares of Ferrari dropped more than 5% after the car maker's Q1 results.

If looking at automobile shares today one might be discouraged but rating agency Moody's says there is reason to think a gradual recovery is on its way after some of the big names in the space signalled they are restarting production.

"While the ramp-up of vehicle production in Europe will be gradual, it is credit positive for automakers and an important first step in the sector's eventual recovery," Moody's says.

The coronavirus-induced shutdown meant European companies missed to produce about 2.2 million cars, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

"Output will likely remain well below capacity over the next few months," Moody's says.

April car registrations slumped by around 89% in France and 97% in Spain year on year.

But there is reason to cheer as Volkswagen, Daimler, Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft, Volvo Car and Fiat Chrysler have restarted manufacturing operations, Moody's adds.

(Joice Alves)

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THE V-SHAPED RALLY IS OVER? (0930 GMT)

A whopping 25% rally has now come to a screeching halt with expectations for further upside limited as P/E ratios have risen to near pre-virus levels, and the fresh U.S.-China spat over the origin of the pandemic is dampening investor moods.

A JPMorgan equity strategy note lines up a couple of necessary conditions, to have significant upside from the current levels. Firstly "no re-acceleration of coronavirus infections in China which started to open up, nor a second wave" in Europe or the U.S.

Then the economy has to avoid a spiral typical of recessions, which includes "weak final demand, falling profits, weak labour market, weak credit markets and low oil price."

And given the U.S. policy response to the crisis has been stronger than Europe's it has moved it rating on the country's stocks to 'neutral'.

JPMorgan meanwhile is 'neutral' on the Eurozone, while 'overweight' on China and Japan.

Shares across the world have been under renewed selling pressure since May 1, after top U.S. officials accused China of being the origin of the pandemic fueling fears of a new trade war.

(Stefano Rebaudo)

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OPENING SNAPSHOT: PRESSURE ON THYSSENKRUPP AND ROLLS ROYCE(0755 GMT)

European bourses match falls in Asia after a long weekend, as a new U.S.-China spat worries that the economy could come under renewed pressure for possible trade-war hostilities.

Sentiment soured again after hoping for a relief due to easing of coronavirus outbreak induced lockdowns.

Oil & gas sector is the worst hit, after the crude futures fell paring last weeks' gains and as Shell's dividend cut announced last week still weighs. Dutch-listed shares of Shell fell 7.5% in early trade.

Thyssenkrupp loses 16% after it said it expected the coronavirus crisis to cause a new financial squeeze, despite the sale of its elevator division.

Among the top loser also banks and automotive, a strong sign the sentiment is still risk-off. Societe Generale is more or less in line with its peers, as it expects likely provision for 3.5 billion euros to 5 billion euros this year.

Possible layoffs of 8,000, up to 15% of its workforce, is putting selling pressure on Rolls Royce shares, which lost 7% earlier this morning.

(Stefano Rebaudo)

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ON THE RADAR: AVIATION, THYSSENKRUPP, ROCHE (0655 GMT)

European futures are pointing to an open well in the red as U.S.-China tensions over the coronavirus raised concerns about fresh trade-war hostilities.

Continental European bourses are set to play catch-up this morning having missed out on Friday's (May Day) sharp declines in UK and US markets. Indeed, futures on the FTSE index show a smaller fall because London marketplace was open on May Day.

Corporate news piling up this morning is, as usual, mostly about the damage of the coronavirus outbreak. Things are dire for aviation but state support could be on its way.

Reuters reported Britain hires Morgan Stanley to advise on aviation rescue plan. Rolls-Royce is planning to slash up to 8,000 jobs as aviation crisis bites further.

Norwegian Air secured support from enough bondholders for a $1.2 billion debt-for-equity swap, a vital step to survive the coronavirus crisis. In Germany Lufthansa is hopeful its bailout talks with the German government can be concluded soon.

Allianz reported a preliminary 30% drop in first quarter net profit and abandoned its profit target for the full year.

Thyssenkrupp expects the coronavirus crisis to cause a new financial squeeze, despite the expected cash-in from the sale of its elevator division. The FT reported that private equity firms Cinven and Advent seek to offload risk on €17bn Thyssenkrupp deal agreed in February.

France's state-owned SNCF railways company estimates it will lose at least 3 billion euros, Les Echos daily newspaper reported.

In the health care space, Roche has won emergency approval from in the U.S. for an antibody test to determine whether people have ever been infected with the coronavirus, and France's Biomérieux won more positive feedback from the U.S. regulator for its product aimed at helping tests.

But there is life also on the M&A front: Telefonica confirmed talks with billionaire John Malone's Liberty Global over a possible merger between both companies' British units.

Meantime, banks continue to set aside billions of euros to cover for expected bad loans:

Societe Generale expects to provision 3.5 billion euros to 5 billion euros this year.

(Stefano Rebaudo and Joice Alves)

MORNING CALL: FUTURES FALL AMID U.S./CHINA VIRUS TENSIONS (0536 GMT)

European futures are well in the red on concerns that the U.S./China spat over the origin of the coronavirus could threaten the economy further with fresh trade-war hostilities.

Asian stock markets were down today, in thin trading due to holidays in China and Japan.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday there was "a significant amount of evidence" that the virus emerged from a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

(Stefano Rebaudo)

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(Reporting by Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus, Stefano Rebaudo and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)