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LIVE MARKETS-Closing snapshot: trade wars are also good when they don't happen

* European shares advance

* China's Xi speech soothes jitters over trade tensions

* Autos rise after Xi pledges to cut import tariffs

* LVMH supported by solid update

LONDON, April 10 (Reuters) - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity

markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Danilo Masoni. Reach

him on Messenger to share your thoughts on market moves:

danilo.masoni.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net

CLOSING SNAPSHOT: TRADE WARS ARE ALSO GOOD WHEN THEY DON'T HAPPEN (1606 GMT)

European shares surfed the global trade war relief rally and the STOXX 600 closed up 0.83

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percent with gains widespread among sectors and across European bourses. Basic materials, cars,

oil and gas are clear winners alongside luxury thanks to LVMH.

Let's see if this lasts until tomorrow. Have a good evening!

(Julien Ponthus)

*****

LOSING MOMENTUM DOESN'T MEAN LOSING THE PLOT (1343 GMT)

Yes, there might be a slight loss of economic momentum, particularly in the euro zone, but

that doesn't mean the big picture of "global synchronised growth" is over, the chief global

strategist at HSBC Asset Management just told us.

"The risk of recession remains very low," Joe Little argued, saying a number of "benign"

factors, such as the euro strength, seasonal effects and a temporary moderation of growth can

explain a possible loss of momentum but that his bank still takes the view that the global

economy is in a "balanced expansion".

There should be a little bit more inflation down the road but clearly no "dramatic

weakness", he said.

At this stage of the cycle, HSBC AM is therefore still positive on Euro zone and Japanese

equities because of the attractiveness of their price-earnings ratios relative to their American

peers. Little believes a tactical bias towards cyclical shares is still warranted, in particular

financials, while it's worth moving a bit away from tech.

(Julien Ponthus)

*****

NOWOTNY MAKES EURO ZONE STOCKS WOBBLE (1234 GMT)

Comments from Ewald Nowotny on the possible increase in the euro zone deposit rate have

caused some action on markets in Europe, sending the euro to a fresh day's high against the

dollar.

On the stock market the reaction was less linear.

On one hand, banks - which benefit from policy tightening - got a boost to hit a fresh

session high, up as much as 0.6 percent, but on the other, telecoms, utilities, and real estate

- which tend to be inversely correlated to higher interest rates - all moved close to fresh

lows.

That resulted in a wobble for the euro zone STOXX index, which briefly reduced

gains before slightly recovering.

Nowotny, one of the longest-serving ECB policymakers, said the European Central Bank could

stagger the process of raising euro zone interest rates by first lifting its sub-zero deposit

rate back toward positive territory.

"I would have no problem with moving from -0.4 percent to -0.2 percent as a first step," he

said.

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

MIDSESSION SNAPSHOT: STOXX STAYS HIGHER (1127 GMT)

Around half way through the trading session, European shares are holding on to their earlier

gains with the pan-regional STOXX 600 benchmark rising around 0.6 percent, helped by a

combination of some good earnings reports, M&A news and easing trade war jitters.

While U.S. futures were also pointing to a strong start, in this snapshot you

can see where we stand in Europe at the moment.

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

SEEING SIGNS OF STRESS (1103 GMT)

The return of volatility to markets has got some investors wondering whether this could be

signalling a change in regime. Jupiter Asset Management's James Clunie, head of strategy,

absolute return, believes that this could indeed be the case and says that around half of their

indicators are showing signs of stress.

"Increased volatility is not a reliable indicator of change on its own," says Jupiter's

Clunie in a note.

"We need to see evidence of stress across several indicators. Looking at our dashboard of

indicators of potential stress in markets, something unusual does appear to be happening."

Jupiter's stress indicators which are in "red" territory include:

1. A collapse of fringe bubbles (not just bitcoin) such as short-volatility ETFs, FAANG

stocks coming under pressure

2. Liquidity indicators

3. Hong Kong dollar

Clunie considers the turbulence in "glamour" stocks such as the FAANGs an "amber" signal,

given that it is still too early to tell whether a change in sentiment towards them will be

sustained, and he also puts turbulence indices in the "amber" category.

On the positive side, IPO, high yield bond and squeeze ETFs are not showing signs of stress,

says Clunie.

(Kit Rees)

*****

TEMPTED BY DEFENSIVES (0956 GMT)

Hartwig Kos, portfolio manager at SYZ Wealth Management, is turning a bit less bullish on

cyclicals and while he still likes banks - a key cyclical play due to their link to the global

business cycle - he believes it's time to start looking elsewhere.

""While we still like this segment as an investment theme, some of the initial investment

rationale has softened somewhat: banks are not as cheap as they were in the past, yields have

risen to quite an extent over the last few years already and while the business cycle remains

robust, the trajectory is more likely down than up from here," he writes in a monthly asset

view.

"Although it is still too early to become constructive on defensive sectors, we are starting

to see value in areas such as pharmaceuticals and telecommunications, which have suffered

substantially during this period of rising yields," he adds.

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

OPENING SNAPSHOT: EUROPEAN SHARES BOUNCE (0712 GMT)

A recovery in mining stocks, led by Anglo American and Glencore, has

boosted European shares into positive territory at the open, with M&A and results firmly in

focus.

Shares in LVMH are up around 5 percent after its Q1 sales update, while TGS Nopec

is the biggest gainer early on after reporting higher-than-expected Q1 revenue.

Bayer's shares have climbed around 5 percent following a report that the U.S. has

approved its deal with Monsanto, and Ingenico is up around 8.7 percent after U.S. peer

Verifone agreed to be taken private.

The STOXX 600 is up 0.7 percent, Germany's DAX has jumped 1.3 percent and Britain's FTSE 100

is up 0.5 percent.

(Kit Rees)

*****

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE EUROPE'S OPEN (0640 GMT)

The calming effect of Xi's speech is expected to spread over to Europe with futures on main

regional stock benchmarks pointing to gains of 0.7 to 1.2 percent.

Earnings are slowly coming back into focus although early season's releases appear to be

mixed. Shares in Givaudan are expected to fall 1 to 2 percent after its first-quarter sales

growth missed expectations, while LVMH could get a boost, up 4 to 5 percent pre-market, after

undiminished appetite from Chinese consumers helped it post a better-than-expected rise in Q1

sales, prompting a few target prices upgrades. LVMH results could also provide support to other

luxury names.

According to Thomson Reuters data, STOXX 600 earnings are expected to rise 3.4 percent in

the first quarter and sales up 1.1 percent with growth mainly driven by energy companies. Q1

earnings for the S&P are seen up 18.5 percent.

In M&A, Bayer is up nearly 3 percent in pre-market trade on a report it has reached a deal

with the U.S. for approval to buy Monsanto, clearing the last major obstacle to the merger.

Back to Xi's speech, automakers could bounce after the Chinese President said this year his

country will considerably reduce auto import tariffs.

Other stock movers: Glencore says Glasenberg has resigned from his position as Rusal

director and says Rusal contracts are not financially material; Insurer AXA to restructure Swiss

unit, resulting in one-off H1 negative hit; Telecom Italia to take legal action over auditors'

April AGM decision; U.S. FDA restricts sale of Bayer's Essure birth control device; Danske

Bank's head of Baltic Business Banking exits; L'Oreal picked as preferred bidder for stake in

S.Korea's Nanda - Korea Economic Daily; Deutsche becomes Premier Oil's 3rd biggest shareholder

at 5.2 pct.

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

LVMH KICKS OFF LUXURY REPORTING SEASON IN EUROPE (0632 GMT)

The luxury sector is sure to be in focus this morning following LVMH's Q1 results

which came through after the close yesterday.

The French luxury group posted a better-than-expected rise in Q1 sales with 13 percent

organic growth, with demand from Chinese consumers robust.

One premarket indication sees LVMH's shares opening 4 to 5 percent higher, with positive

readacross for Gucci-owner Kering, Richemont and Swatch and Hugo Boss

.

And early on analysts seem to be pretty upbeat about LVMH's results, with Berenberg analysts

calling it "an impressive start to luxury's earnings season" and Raymond James analysts

highlighting "outstanding Q1 sales growth".

Analysts at Jefferies also said that the stronger-than-expected update from LVMH's wine &

spirits division pointed to a strong reporting season for European spirits, especially for Asia.

LVMH's wine & spirits division saw organic revenue growth of 10 percent in Q1.

(Kit Rees)

*****

DAX FUTURES UP MORE THAN 1 PERCENT (0604 GMT)

European stock index futures have opened higher with those on the exporter-heavy DAX up more

than 1 percent after Chinese President Xi Jinping helped soothe investor jitters over an

escalating U.S.-China trade row. Futures on other European benchmarks were up 0.6-0.7 percent.

"This year, we will considerably reduce auto import tariffs, and at the same time reduce

import tariffs on some other products," Xi said at the Chinese Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan

province.

For an analyst view on Xi's speech, click here

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

EARLY MORNING HEADLINES ROUNDUP (0548 GMT)

Bayer bid to buy Monsanto wins U.S. DoJ approval- WSJ

Vuitton owner LVMH posts sales surge in boost to luxury sector

Insurer AXA to restructure Swiss unit, resulting in one-off H1 negative hit

Givaudan Q1 sales rise 5.4 pct, helped by new contracts

Telecom Italia to take legal action over auditors' April AGM decision

Italian fund association will not present slate for Telecom Italia board vote

U.S. FDA restricts sale of Bayer's Essure birth control device

Danske Bank's head of Baltic Business Banking exits

ANALYSIS-Deutsche Bank's new CEO takes sober look at 'ugly' investment bank

L'Oreal picked as preferred bidder for stake in S.Korea's Nanda - Korea Economic Daily

Deutsche becomes Premier Oil's 3rd biggest shareholder at 5.2 pct

EU to explore counter-measures to U.S. aluminium tariffs-trade body

Allianz makes $120 mln investment in African infrastructure - FT

France's EDF March nuclear power production up 4.1 percent

MEDIA-Santander is said to be seeking exit from Astaldi loan exposure- Bloomberg

Total Port Arthur refinery plans to restart gasoline unit by wkend -sources

UBS suspends access to research data for some external providers

Britain's Drax could close coal plants ahead of 2025 deadline

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

MORNING CALL: EUROPE SEEN UP (0518 GMT)

European shares are expected to open higher today after stocks in Asia gained following a

speech from Chinese President Xi Jinping which helped soothe investor jitters over an escalating

U.S.-China trade row. The STOXX 600 eged up 0.1 percent in the previous session.

Xi, speaking at the Boao Forum for Asia, said that China will take measures to sharply widen

market access for foreign investors, raise the foreign ownership limit in the automobile sector

and protect intellectual property of foreign firms.

Financial spreadbetters expect London's FTSE to open 46 points higher at 7,240, Frankfurt's

DAX to open 109 points higher at 12,371 and Paris' CAC to open 47 points higher at 5,311.

Reports that the FBI raided the offices and home of U.S. President Donald Trump's personal

lawyer Michael Cohen reduced gains on Wall Street overnight, but Xi's speech pushed

US futures back higher in Asian trading.

(Danilo Masoni)

*****