LIVE MARKETS-European bounce gathers pace as tech, banks, and oil climb
Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 28 - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to
you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Helen Reid. Reach her on Messenger to
share your thoughts on market moves: helen.reid.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
EUROPEAN BOUNCE GATHERS PACE AS TECH, BANKS, AND OIL CLIMB (1117 GMT)
A relief rally across markets is gathering steam in Europe with the STOXX up 1.8 percent,
set for its strongest day since April.
Tech stocks including AMS (IOB: 0QWC.IL - news) , Infineon (Xetra: 623100 - news) , Wirecard (IOB: 0O8X.IL - news) , and Logitech are leading the charge. The
sector index is up 2.3 percent, along with oil & gas up 2.17 percent.
Oil stocks are up as crude prices are rebounding, clawing back some of the ground lost this
week, but remain close to their lowest levels in more than a year.
As investors start looking towards 2019 and what themes and surprises may come out of the
rubble of this year, one analyst points out a very interesting metric: current estimates for
2019 earnings growth for the STOXX 600 are 8.4 percent, which is actually more than the expected
2019 earnings growth for the S&P 500 (7.6 percent).
"My feeling is corporate earnings in Europe will surprise a few people in 2019," says Chris
Bailey, strategist at Raymond James. "Once people get their heads around the fact the U.S. is
not going to have yet another double-digit return year in 2019, you can look elsewhere."
Nine of the past ten years, earnings growth estimates have been more credible for the U.S.
than for Europe, Bailey emphasises, but this year that could change, marking a potential regime
shift which could lure investment flows back into this region.
(Helen Reid)
*****
WHAT'S ON THE RADAR: AN ATTEMPTED BOUNCE (0736 GMT)
European stocks are set for a strong open on Friday after a recovery bounce in the U.S. and
Asia, though whether the region will be able to hold on to early gains remains an open question
as a turbulent and holiday-shortened week draws to a close.
Futures opened up 0.7 percent to 1 percent, indicating a substantial bounce from levels on
Thursday when the STOXX 600 hit its lowest level since Nov 9 2016 – the day Donald Trump’s
election as U.S. President triggered a broad rally as investors piled into a “Trumpflation”
trade across markets.
Threats still lurk, however, with the U.S. government shutdown ongoing after a brief meeting
of Congress Thursday afternoon took no steps to end it.
Further signs of a souring in U.S.-China relations over technology could also keep a lid on
any optimism: sources told Reuters Trump is considering an executive order in the new year to
declare a national emergency that would bar U.S. companies from using telecoms equipment made by
China’s Huawei and ZTE (Xetra: A0M4ZP - news) .
(Helen Reid)
*****
EUROPEAN FUTURES RISE AFTER U.S., ASIA RELIEF RALLY (0717 GMT)
Futures for European benchmarks opened up strongly, between 0.7 and 1 percent, though
they've already lost some steam with DAX futures now up 0.5 percent.
On the companies front, a profit warning from British inkjet technology maker Xaar (LSE: XAR.L - news) will
likely drive the shares down sharply, while M&A activity continues after yesterday's big news of
Vinci (LSE: 0NQM.L - news) 's $3.7 billion swoop on Gatwick Airport.
The founding family of Italian jewellery group Casa Damiani said it would launch a takeover
to buy it and delist it from the Milan bourse.
Here's a sweep of the biggest corporate news today:
Carige's top investor meets ECB after blocked cash call - sources
Founding family launches takeover to delist Casa Damiani jewellery group
Rio Tinto (Hanover: CRA1.HA - news) says no job cuts in 2019 due to driverless train project
Xaar Says Now Expects H2 Rev To Be Only Slightly Better Than H1
Renault (LSE: 0NQF.L - news) union calls for more transparency over Dutch holding
(Helen Reid)
*****
U.S. BOUNCEBACK TO LIFT EUROPEAN STOCKS (0652 GMT)
A strong rally in U.S. stocks is likely to drive Europe up this morning after a terrible
trading week shortened by Christmas holidays.
The STOXX hit its lowest level since Nov 9 2016 yesterday and lost 1.7 percent, but the S&P
and Dow's gains of more than 1 percent should help lift sentiment - though concerns around the
ongoing U.S. government shutdown and U.S. plans to ban Huawei and ZTE purchases will keep a lid
on optimism.
Asia stocks advanced after Wall Street ended volatile trade in positive territory, adding to
the previous session's big gains, although lingering investor jitters helped support safe-haven
currencies such as the yen.
Volatility in euro zone stocks rose to a high of 26.88 yesterday, the volatility
gauge's highest level since Feb 13 when the market was recovering from a sudden spike in the
VIX.
(Helen Reid)
*****
(Reporting by Helen Reid, Danilo Masoni, Julien Ponthus)