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LIVE MARKETS-Iran: it mainly hurts if you're a French carmaker

* European shares rise, shrug off new Iran sanctions

* Iran-exposed stocks in focus: Airbus, Peugeot (Other OTC: PUGOF - news) , Renault (LSE: 0NQF.L - news) and Total (LSE: 524773.L - news)

* Earnings flow in: eyes on Siemens (BSE: SIEMENS.BO - news) , Deutsche Telekom (IOB: 0MPH.IL - news) , AB InBev (Brussels: ABIT.BR - news) , ING

May 9 (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

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IRAN: IT MAINLY HURTS IF YOU'RE A FRENCH CARMAKER (1013 GMT)

Why let an international crisis over a nuclear deal in the Middle East interfere with the

serious business of a heavy earnings day?

While the Trump administration pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal had long been flagged as

a major political risk, equity markets are shrugging it off in what looks like a textbook "sell

the rumour, buy the fact" move.

There's only a handful of blue-chip European stocks which are suffering this morning ahead

of the sanctions about to hit the OPEC country.

French car makers Renault and Peugeot, which had moved swiftly to sign new production deals

in Iran, are the main losers - down 1 percent and 1.6 percent respectively.

Airbus is down 0.85 percent this morning, to roughly the same extent as Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) yesterday

(-0.6 pct).

Other companies identified as likely losers from a new Iranian crisis, like Siemens, Alstom (EUREX: 2229080.EX - news)

or Total, are trading comfortably in positive territory.

"It dents sentiment but we have yet to see to what extent sanctions will play out," a trader

cautiously said this morning.

Here's a useful "Factbox" about big deals and contracts signed by international corporations

in Iran after the international sanctions were lifted:

Here's a snapshot of how these shares are doing at 0945 GMT:

(Julien Ponthus and Helen Reid)

*****

OIL STOCKS SURGE ON IRAN NEWS: WHERE TO FROM HERE? (0950 GMT)

Trump pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal has sent crude prices rocketing higher, taking

oil stocks up with them.

Europe's oil stocks index has just hit its highest level since September 2014, up 2 percent,

and looks like it's catching up with crude prices after a long period of lagging the underlying

commodity.

Exane analysts say big oil offers free cash flow yields increasingly attractive versus their

own recent history and the broader market, and note the sector remains "largely unloved" by

equity generalists.

They do note that "geopolitical and regulatory risks won't ease, with a higher risk premium

for Big Oil," however. With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) much of the recent boost to oil coming from geopolitical

developments, analysts are questioning whether the price could come back down again.

Exane is positive on Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) , Total, BP, neutral on Chevron (Euronext: CHTEX.NX - news) , Eni (LSE: 0N9S.L - news) , Repsol (Amsterdam: RP6.AS - news) and Statoil (LSE: 0M2Z.L - news) , and

negative on Exxon Mobil (Swiss: XOM-USD.SW - news) and Galp.

If oil prices stay at these levels, Eni metrics will improve markedly, they say, and they

recommend some E&P exposure through Tullow and Aker BP (LSE: 0M5J.L - news) .

What's going to define the path of big oils this year?

Exane estimates around $30 billion of excess cash flow from their coverage pre-M&A between

2018 and 2019, and expect the priority order of usage to be: buybacks, selective acquisitions,

and deleveraging.

(Helen Reid)

*****

OPENING SNAPSHOT: KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON WITH THE EARNINGS SEASON (0816 GMT)

European bourses have opened flat or in positive territory and early trading looks just like

what would be expected during a busy earnings season rather than after a geopolitical game

changer in the Middle East. Here's what it looks like:

Which brings us to the following question: have stock markets grown immune to political

risk? Investors sure do give the impression they can shrug off any political risk thrown at them

and keep their cool, far from the "extreme greed and extreme fear" clichés that are sometimes

used to define their behaviour.

In that regard, 2017, when the French elections were spooking investors, seems a long time

ago in contrast with the cool-headed market reaction to the Trump administration pulling out of

the Iran deal.

Research notes this morning are clearly telling investors to keep calm this morning and

carry on while keeping an eye on the big picture.

"While we will monitor risks, we believe stocks can continue to grind higher over the

intermediate term, supported by strong global economic and earnings growth," wrote the CIO of

UBS WM, noting that "geopolitical tensions will likely remain elevated and oil price risk

continues to be skewed to the upside."

For Berenberg, "the new US sanctions against Iran add a further dimension to a list of risks

ranging from an overblown inflation scare to geopolitical concerns and the serious trade

tensions stoked by US president Donald Trump."

There is, however, no reason to panic, their analysts say.

"Could this turn into a toxic mix that threatens the global economic upswing? While we

cannot rule it out completely, that still looks rather unlikely, in our view."

(Julien Ponthus)

*****

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE THE OPEN (0645 GMT)

European shares are set to open slightly higher as investors digest a flurry of earning

updates and Trump's decision to pull the US out a nuclear deal with Iran and reinstate

sanctions. Futures on main country benchmarks are up 0.1-0.2 percent, further building on the

slight advance seen on Tuesday that pushed the STOXX 600 to new 3-month highs, as the region

equities find support in a weakening euro and an earnings season which Morgan Stanley (Xetra: 885836 - news) says is

shaping up as a "marginal beat".

According to Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) data, earnings beats on the MSCI EMU index outnumbered missed

by nearly 6 to 3 so far with first quarter growth seen at 3.2 percent in local currency.

On the M&A front, big news from Vodafone which agreed an 18.4 billion euro deal to buy

Liberty Global (Frankfurt: A1W0FL - news) 's operations in Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, sending its shares

down 1 percent in premarket.

Here are some top earning headlines: Siemens lifts FY profit guidance after one-off gain

(+2-3% pre-mkt); AB InBev boosts profits in Latam, but stumbles in U.S. (+2-4% pre-mkt);

Deutsche Telekom raises EBITDA guidance as T-Mobile US performs (+1% pre-mkt) ; ING posts $2 bln

Q1 pretax profit, beating estimates (+1% pre-mt); Cold winter hits HeidelbergCement (IOB: 0MG2.IL - news) core profit

(-3% pre-mkt).

Back to the Iran developments eyes will be on Airbus, after US Treasury Secretary Steven

Mnuchin said its license to sell passenger jets to Iran will be revoked. Its shares were down 1

pct in premarket. Traders will also be watching shares companies like Siemens, Peugeot, Renault

and Total with operations in Iran.

(Danilo Masoni)

****

EUROPEAN STOCK FUTURES EDGE UP (0611 GMT)

European stock futures have opened marginally in positive territory, up 0.1-0.2 percent as

investors digest a flurry of earnings updates and Trump's decision to pull the United States out

of an international nuclear deal with Iran.

Here's your snapshot:

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

HEADLINES ROUNDUP: MOSTLY EARNINGS (0549 GMT)

There's a flurry of earnings updates to look at this morning and more are to come during the

day. Besides results we'll also be looking for any fallout of Trump's decision to abandon the

nuclear deal. Licenses for Boeing Co and Airbus to sell passenger jets to Iran

will be revoked, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

Here are your main headlines.

Deutsche Telekom raises EBITDA guidance as T-Mobile US performs

ING posts $2 bln Q1 pretax profit, beating estimates

Zurich Insurance Q1 premiums beat expectations

AB InBev profit gains as Latin America offsets weak United States

Nokian Tyres (EUREX: 373439.EX - news) misses market expectations in Q1, cites currency effects

Siemens lifts full year profit guidance

Delivery Hero Q1 revenue surges 61 pct

Strong adhesive sales make up for Henkel (LSE: 0IZ8.L - news) delivery woes

TUI (LSE: 0NLA.L - news) confirms FY profit target, approves new ship for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

Belgian billionaire Frere to sell Burberry stake

Fraport (IOB: 0O1R.IL - news) says Frankfurt traffic up 5.8 pct in Apr, Q1 results beat

Cold winter hits HeidelbergCement core profit

SMA Solar posts profit rise on stronger demand in Europe, Asia

Ahold Delhaize Q1 sales increase as U.S. operations improve:

Norwegian Air says takeover interest validates business model

Norwegian Air's CEO says "at the right price, anything is for sale"

Deutsche Bank (IOB: 0H7D.IL - news) denies planning to cut U.S. workforce by 20 pct

Italy's BPER selects 6.4 bln soured loan portfolio for possible sale

Spain's Banco Sabadell fined by ECB over capital buyback

Millennium bcp likely to resume dividend payouts after 2018

Springer Nature cancels Frankfurt stock market listing

Total's Iran gas deal hangs by a thread after Trump dumps nuclear deal

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

MORNING CALL: EUROPEAN SHARES SEEN LITTLE CHANGED (0526 GMT)

European shares are set for a flat start today with financial spreadbetters expecting

London's FTSE to open 7 point higher at 7,573, Frankfurt's DAX to open 22 points higher at

12,934 and Paris' CAC to open up 4 points at 5,526.

Over in Asia, crude oil prices jumped back to near 3 1/2-year highs after President Donald

Trump pulled the United States out of an international nuclear deal with Iran, sparking worries

about global oil supplies.

(Danilo Masoni)

*****