LIVE MARKETS-European stock futures rise as Washington talks eyed

Feb 18 - 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 STOCK FUTURES RISE AS WASHINGTON TALKS EYED (0719 GMT)

Futures are up this morning with a less busy trading day ahead: Wall Street will be shut for

President's Day, and there are no big data releases on the horizon either.

Societe Generale (Swiss: 519928.SW - news) economists reckon the key market-moving data this week will be euro area

business sentiment surveys.

"After pronounced weakening, we expect generally slightly improved readings, crucial to

supporting our view that growth will improve," they write.

Minutes from the Fed and the ECB will also be an important focus, while on trade "markets

will also keep an eye on the intensified U.S.-China trade negotiations for any signs of a

breakthrough."

(Helen Reid)

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COMPANY NEWS TO WATCH: FAURECIA (Swiss: EO.SW - news) , DEUTSCHE BANK (IOB: 0H7D.IL - news) , WIRECARD (Swiss: WDI.SW - news) (0658 GMT)

In early morning results and company news, there's no shortage of interesting tidbits. In a

boost to Wirecard (IOB: 0O8X.IL - news) shares, German regulator BaFin banned investors from establishing or

increasing net short positions on the stock.

Auto parts maker Faurecia struck an upbeat tone, saying it hopes to outperform the market in

2019 while cautioning it sees auto production in general to be slightly negative this year.

The headline harvest so far:

Chinese conglomerate HNA (Shanghai: 600221.SS - news) cut its stake in Deutsche Bank to 6.3 percent.

Car (HKSE: 0699-OL.HK - news) parts group Faurecia hopes to outperform uncertain market in 2019

Swiss Re (LSE: 0QL6.L - news) completes 1 billion franc share buyback

HNA cuts stake in Deutsche Bank to 6.3 percent - SEC (Shanghai: 603988.SS - news) filing

Airbus warns of no-deal Brexit, says has spent tens of millions preparing

Germany's BaFin Bans Wirecard Short Positions

UK concludes it can mitigate risk from Huawei equipment use in 5G - FT

Vapiano Reports Deviation From 2018 Forecast

DIA (EUREX: 13086668.EX - news) to hold shareholder meeting in March

(Helen Reid)

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EUROPE'S RALLY SET TO CONTINUE AHEAD OF WASHINGTON TRADE TALKS (0625 GMT)

The impressive rally which pushed European shares to touch their highest in four months on

Friday is set to continue with new trade talks between the U.S. and China this week in

Washington helping investors' risk appetite.

Meanwhile, trouble could be looming for autos: the U.S. Commerce Department sent a report on

Sunday to President Trump on car imports and national security which could unleash steep tariffs

on imported cars and car parts. The department would not disclose any details of the report, but

Trump has 90 days to decide whether to act upon the recommendations.

Financial spreadbetters expect London's FTSE to open 2 points higher at 7,239, Frankfurt's

DAX to open 22 points higher at 11,322 and Paris' CAC to open 8 points higher at 5,162.

Asian share markets bounced broadly on Monday as investors dared to hope for both progress

at Sino (Dusseldorf: 1205802.DU - news) -U.S. trade talks in Washington this week and more policy stimulus from major central

banks.

(Helen Reid)

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(Reporting by Helen Reid, Danilo Masoni, Julien Ponthus)