LIVE MARKETS-Futures point to tepid start to trading

* Spreadbetters see small falls for European stocks

* STOXX 600 had worst day in 6 weeks on Thursday

* Trump says he won't meet Xi before trade deadline of March 1

Feb 8 - 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

FUTURES POINT TO TEPID START TO TRADING (0714 GMT)

It's a tepid open for futures with the trade-sensitive DAX seeing the biggest falls, down

0.2 percent, while CAC 40 futures are up 0.2 percent.

Things could, of course, deteriorate during the day as they did yesterday.

But meanwhile individual stocks are likely to drive the session. A rundown of European

earnings is in the previous blog.

From the UK, we've got bellwether mortgage lender Nationwide Building Society (LSE: NBS.L - news) reporting

profits fell 21 percent after ramping up investment in digital banking, and energy utility SSE (Amsterdam: UW8.AS - news)

cutting its full-year profit forecast.

Nationwide profits fall 21 pct on further digital spend

SSE (LSE: SSE.L - news) cuts annual profit outlook

(Helen Reid)

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STRONG RESULTS FROM L'OREAL, CECONOMY, WHILE UMICORE WARNS OF AUTO SLOWDOWN (0657 GMT)

While the lack of positive progress towards a U.S.-China trade deal is likely to keep

European markets tepid today, earnings on the whole look slightly healthier than yesterday.

Cosmetics giant L'Oreal said strong demand for luxury skin creams helped it beat Q4 sales

forecasts - another company reporting better than feared demand from China after LVMH last week.

Results from Ceconomy, Europe's biggest consumer electronics retailer, should deliver some

relief to the retail sector: the company's sales beat expectations thanks to Black Friday

discounts, and it maintained its profit guidance.

In other strong results, Norwegian oil services firm Aker Solutions (Stockholm: AKSOO.ST - news) delivered better than

expected order intake.

On the flipside, Belgian's Umicore (Hamburg: 3771399.HM - news) , a battery producer which has been a favourite of

investors looking to play the electric vehicle trade, said it expected 2019 growth to be hit by

subdued demand in the car and consumer electronics sectors, and R&D costs.

Swedish builder Skanska (LSE: 0HBT.L - news) reported a Q4 profit which lagged expectations.

In M&A news, Italian insurer Unipol (Dusseldorf: 18319160.DU - news) agreed to sell its banking unit to BPER Banca for 220

million euros.

Here are the headlines so far:

Chinese demand boosts L'Oreal cosmetics sales

Belgium's Umicore expects subdued auto demand, startup costs to weigh on 2019 earnings

Aker Solutions eyes oil service recovery as order intake beats forecast

Ceconomy maintains profit guidance after better first quarter

Skanska Q4 operating profit, 2018 dividend lag expectations

Fiat Chrysler paid $77 mln in U.S. fuel economy penalties in 2018

Italy's Unipol to sell banking unit to BPER Banca for 220 mln euros

Air France KLM January passenger numbers rise 1.5 pct on year

France probes Danske Bank (LSE: 0NVC.L - news) over money laundering allegations

Swiss raise 380 mln Sfr from 5G mobile spectrum auction

(Helen Reid)

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EUROPEAN STOCKS TO FALTER AFTER WORST DAY IN SIX WEEKS (0629 GMT)

Yesterday's selloff is expected to extend into the end of the trading week with

spreadbetters pointing to slight falls for the DAX and CAC.

The sharp drop yesterday in the STOXX - its worst day in six weeks - came after European

shares reached 12-week highs, and was likely driven by some profit-taking as well as the angst

triggered by U.S. President Trump saying he was not likely to meet China's Xi before a March 1

tariff deadline, dousing markets' hopes of an imminent trade deal.

Downgrades to euro area and UK growth certainly didn't help either.

Asian stocks lost ground on Friday as investors worried about a broadening global economic

slowdown, with sentiment not helped by the absence of any positive signs for a resolution in the

U.S.-China trade row.

Financial spreadbetters at IG (Frankfurt: A0EARV - news) expect London's FTSE to open 6 points higher at 7,100,

Frankfurt's DAX to open 9 points lower at 11,013 and Paris' CAC to open 2 points lower at 4,984.

(Helen Reid)

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(Reporting by Helen Reid, Danilo Masoni, Julien Ponthus, and Josephine Mason)