LIVE MARKETS-European headlines to watch: telecoms and Givaudan

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters

stocks reporters and anchored today by Josephine Mason. Reach her on Messenger to share your

thoughts on market moves: josephine.mason.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net

EUROPEAN HEADLINES TO WATCH: TELECOMS AND GIVAUDAN (0658 GMT)

With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) earnings season in full swing, there's plenty of earnings to digest this morning.

Telecoms firms will be in focus with Ericsson (Hanover: ERCB.HA - news) , Telia and Vodafone reporting.

Let's start with the good news: Swedish mobile telecom equipment maker Ericsson has reported

a significantly smaller Q4 operating loss than expected and said it was on track to reach its

financial goals.

The operating loss was 1.9 billion crowns ($209.7 million), against a 19.3 billion loss a

year ago, and a mean forecast for a 3 billion loss expected in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Now (Frankfurt: 11N.F - news) the not so good: Telia's fourth-quarter core earnings were below market expectations and

the company said it expected the challenging conditions in Sweden, its largest market, to

continue.

But some shareholder-pleasing news: it has proposed a dividend of 2.36 crowns, above a

median forecast of 2.30 crowns.

Vodafone will issue its trading statement later this morning. Its shares were hammered

yesterday after its South African unit Vodacom's weak numbers.

In other more downbeat results news, fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan (LSE: 0QPS.L - news) said its

weaker-than-expected net income in 2018 was hit by higher financing costs and foreign currency

losses.

Online retailers, which have been the big winners of the Christmas holiday sales, may get a

boost from a report in The Times that Britain has ruled out an online sales tax proposed to help

high street vendors in the country as it would fall foul of the European Union rules.

French dairy group Savencia (LSE: 0DTK.L - news) may be in focus after its unit Sodilac said it was recalling

infant formula sold in pharmacies in France and produced at a Spanish factory due to possible

links with salmonella cases among babies.

Here are the other headlines:

Swatch plans to reduce capital via repurchased shares

Air Liquide Makes A Strategic Investment In The Production Of Decarbonated Hydrogen

America Movil buying Telefonica (LSE: 826858.L - news) operations in Central America

MEDIA-Three funds, not Autogrill (Milan: AGL.MI - news) still in race for Elior (Paris: FR0013204435 - news) 's Areas division -Les Echos

BRIEF-Accorhotels Announces Two Bond Issues For 1.1 Billion Euros

(Josephine Mason)

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EUROPE SEEN EXTENDING GAINS (0620 GMT)

Spreadbetters expect European shares to extend yesterday's gains and build on rises on Wall

Street and in Asia overnight, but trading may be cautious as investors brace for a slew of

crucial events next week from the Fed meeting, a key Brexit vote in London on Tuesday and the

latest round of U.S.-China trade talks.

Watch out for sterling. The pound breached the psychologically important $1.3 to the dollar

overnight after The Sun reported that Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party has privately

decided to offer conditional backing for Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal next week.

That added further fuel to hopes the UK might avoid a no-deal Brexit on March 29.

Still, financial spreadbetters at IG (Frankfurt: A0EARV - news) expect London's FTSE to open 21 points higher at 6,840,

Frankfurt's DAX to open 71 points higher at 11,201 and Paris' CAC to open 25 points higher at

4,897.

CMC Markets (LSE: CMCX.L - news) are expecting slightly small gains - the FTSE to rise 14 points, the DAX up 65

points and CAC 40 up 22 points.

(Josephine Mason)

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