LIVE MARKETS-Opening snapshot: fading optimism

* European shares down slightly after positive start * STOXX 600 down 0.1% after hitting 4-day high; DAX down 0.3% * German industrial output rises unexpectedly in August 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: rm://josephine.mason.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net OPENING SNAPSHOT: FADING OPTIMISM (0737 GMT) That optimism around U.S.-China trade overnight? It seems to be fading a little in Europe. Major bourses are now edging lower after a slightly positive start, which given the mixed messages from Washington overnight is not really surprising - the United States has blacklisted eight Chinese tech companies and U.S. President Trump suggested a deal to end the trade dispute may not be quite yet in the offing. The pan European STOXX 600 is down 0.1%, but it's been and out of negative territory in the first 20 minutes of trade as the index struggles for direction. Germany's trade-sensitive DAX is underperforming, down 0.3%. In individual moves, LSE shares are the 2nd biggest faller on the STOXX 600, hitting their lowest since Sept. 11 after Hong Kong pulled out of its takeover bid for the exchange, while Germany biotech Qiagen has plunged 16.5% to three-year lows after its sales warning. UK recruiters are falling after Robert Walters and Page Group cautioned that Brexit and Hong Kong protests are hurting business. Hays is down 6%, Pagegroup is at its weakest since December 2016 and Robert Walters is at July 2017 lows. Tech stocks are leading the sectoral gains, with Ericsson and Nokia benefiting from an FT report that Washington has suggested offering credit to the Nordic telecom companies to help them compete with China's Huawei. (Josephine Mason) ***** AHEAD OF THE OPEN: LSE, EASYJET AND HONG KONG PROTESTS (0657 GMT) European stocks are expected to open higher this morning, drawing strength from gains overnight in Asia even as investors remain nervous about U.S.-China trade talks later this week. The major stock futures are up between 0.2% and 0.6% at one-week highs, with Spain leading the charge. An unexpected jump in German industrial output in August will also help the mood. On the corporate front, the major news overnight is Hong Kong Exchange's decision to ditch its unsolicited takeover bid for LSE. Shares in one of the world's oldest and largest stock exchanges could fall as much as 8% on the news as the company turns its attention to its deal with Refinitiv. One trader reckons the stocks could return to around 6,800 pence, where it was trading before Hong Kong's surprise offer, which would mark a 10% drop from last night's closing price. Plenty of earnings news to digest. British budget airline easyJet says full-year profit will come in at the upper end of expectations, with revenues boosted by pilot strikes at rivals British Airways and Ryanair. Its shares are seen higher, while Air France is expected to get a boost from its September traffic numbers. It's a mixed bag in corporate Germany - Wirecard is up 2% in premarket trading after the German payments firm raised its 2025 targets, while Qiagen shares are down as much as 13% after warning on its Q3 sales and losing its CEO. In M&A, Uniper shares are down more than 3% after Finnish utility Fortum said it will buy a majority stake in the German company. Major shareholder in Nordex Acciona has raised its stake above 30%, raising the chance that it will make a takeover offer for the German wind turbine maker. Nordex's shares are up 7%. A report that the U.S. government has suggested issuing credit to Nokia and Ericsson to help them compete with China's Huawei may give the Nordic telecoms companies a boost. In the latest sign that the Hong Kong protests are hurting business, British recruiters Pagegroup and Robert Walters warned about damage from Brexit and the protests in the former British colony. Their shares are seen falling sharply on the gloomy outlook. Elliott Capital has disclosed a 14.3% stake in FTSE midcap-listed retail savings bank OneSavings, the latest sign the activist investor continues to expand its footprint in Europe. (Josephine Mason and Joice Alves) ***** ON OUR RADAR: LSE, WIRECARD AND CHIPS (0557 GMT) Dealmaking and earnings are catching the headlines this morning. Hong Kong's bourse has scrapped its unsolicited $39 billion approach for the London Stock Exchange after failing to convince LSE management to back a move that could have transformed both global financial services giants. German payments firm Wirecard has increased its 2025 targets for transaction volume, revenue and EBITDA due to organic growth drivers and partnerships, boosting its shares by 2.2% in premarket trade at Lang & Schwarz. Some good news for chipmakers from Samsung Electronics which flagged slightly better-than-expected Q3 profit, helped by strong sales of its new Galaxy Note 10 smartphone series even as a slump in its memory chip business continued to weigh on earnings. In Germany, Qiagen has lost its CEO and warned Q3 preliminary sales will fall short of expectations. Here are some early headlines: Air France KLM's September passenger traffic rises from year ago Wirecard raises EBITDA, revenue and transaction targets for 2025 Game over: Hong Kong bourse pulls $39 bln play for London Stock Exchange Airbus sold 41 jets in September, targets record 4th-quarter deliveries Thyssenkrupp to cut admin jobs as part of restructuring - sources Germany's Aareal conducts strategic review following calls from investor Liqui-Box sells bag-in-box business to get green light for DS Smith deal Haulier Eddie Stobart's shareholder DBAY gets more time to make bid Martin Sorrell's S4 Capital to raise 100 mln pound for next wave of takeovers - Sky news Qiagen ceo leaves, warns on Q3 sales (Josephine Mason) ***** UNEXPLAINED OPTIMISM IN EUROPE (0520 GMT) Stock markets are displaying remarkable optimism in Asia this morning, with China trading higher after its week-long holiday, even after a soggy Wall Street close and even though the commentary around the U.S.-China trade talks isn't exactly overwhelmingly positive. Overnight Washington blacklisted eight Chinese tech companies, expanding its target list to include some of China's top artificial intelligence startups, punishing Beijing for its treatment of Muslim minorities and ratcheting up tensions ahead of high-level trade talks in the U.S. capitol this week. U.S. President Trump also said he hoped China found a humane and peaceful resolution to the ongoing political protests in Hong Kong, and warned the situation had the potential to hurt trade talks taking place later this week aimed at ending the protracted trade spat between the world's two largest economies. The bilateral talks are getting underway ahead of a scheduled increase in U.S. tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, to 30% from 25% on Oct. 15. IG spreadbetters expect London's FTSE to open 17 points higher at 7,214, Frankfurt's DAX to open 26 points higher at 12,123, and Paris' CAC to open 9 points higher at 5,531. (Josephine Mason) ***** (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Joice Alves, Josephine Mason, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)