LIVE MARKETS-Opening snapshot: Markets are on a roll

* European stocks rise ahead of ECB meeting * CAC 40 outperforms on solid updates LVMH, Schneider Electric * Nokia rises 9% after surprise Q2 profit jump * Cobham +34% after Advent agrees to buy for $5 billion Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Thyagaraju Adinarayan. Reach him on Messenger to share your thoughts on market moves: thyagaraju.adinarayan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net OPENING SNAPSHOT: MARKETS ARE ON A ROLL (0728 GMT) European stocks are just shy of hitting more than one-year highs driven by some solid earnings updates from companies and expectations that the ECB will further ease monetary policy later today. The pan European STOXX 600 is now up 0.4%. France's CAC 40 rose as much as 0.9% in early trades, easily outperforming rest of Europe after LVMH's Q2 sales beat and Schneider Electric's outlook lift pushed the index to a whisker away from December 2007 highs. It's been trading at May 2018 highs in recent days. Cobham has soared 34% and is the top performer across Europe after Advent International agreed to buy the British company known for pioneering air-to-air refuelling technology for $5 billion, the latest U.S. private equity firm to swoop on a European company potentially spotting a bargain buy. Nokia is stealing the show in the earnings onslaught with their shares rising as much as 9% after the Finnish telecom equipment maker reported a surprise jump in second-quarter profit. AstraZeneca shares have hit record highs after raising its sales outlook. European autos index took a sharp U-turn after hitting early-May highs after downbeat Nissan news with Valeo being the only stock with decent gains. The car parts maker confirmed its FY goals amid a global auto slowdown. Ford's warning overnight, which sent carmaker's shares down 7% post-close in the U.S., could be weighing on the sector. (Thyagaraju Adinarayan) ***** ON OUR RADAR: BEER TO PHARMA, CARS TO YOGURTS, PERFUMES TO CHIPS (0657 GMT) European stocks are seen rising this morning ahead of the ECB meeting, where Mario Draghi is expected to set the stage for a September rate cut and give details on potential stimulus measures. On the corporate news front, we have a slew of earnings reports this morning and unsurprisingly there are mixed signals from companies in sectors ranging from spirits to pharma, perfumes to chemicals, cars to yogurts, you name it. Shares in Nokia are seen rising as much as 7% after reporting a surprise rise in second-quarter profit, citing higher demand -- it may have likely benefited from U.S. restrictions on Chinese rival Huawei. In chips, STMicro is seen 2% down after it cut its revenue outlook, while its rivals Aixtron and Siltronic are seen higher after they kept their guidance unchanged. In cars, Volkswagen shares are seen rising 1%-3% in Frankfurt after reporting a 30% jump in Q2 operating profit driven by its higher-margin sports utility vehicle sales. Valeo seen rising 3-4% after it confirmed its FY goals. Those positive updates could help European auto sector dust off Ford's warning which dented sent the carmaker's shares down 7% post-close in the U.S. In Paris, where stock futures are rallying 0.9%, blue-chips Danone and Total are seen rising after reporting results. Total is also boosted by its asset sale plan. Over to liquor, AB InBev, which makes Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, is set to rise 2% after it reported a Q2 beat as beer sales grew at their fastest pace in five years. AB InBev took a hit earlier this month after cancelling its Asia IPO. In hard liquor we have Diageo, the world's largest spirits company, reported higher profits helped by growth across all its markets. Cobham could rise as much as 30% after U.S. buyout group Adevnt offered to buy the British engineer for 4 billion pounds. In pharma, Switzerland's Roche shares are seen rising 2% after it raised full-year sales outlook as newer drugs fuelled first-half results. In London, we've got consumer goods giant Unilever reporting a slightly weaker-than-expected quarterly underlying sales growth hit by wet weather in Europe and North America. (Thyagaraju Adinarayan) ***** FUTURES RALLY ON DRAGHI EFFECT, ONSLAUGHT OF EARNINGS (0635 GMT) European stock futures indicate a solid open for all major indices with gains ranging from 0.4% to 0.8%. Eurostoxx futures have hit their highest since May last year and the Paris futures have rallied 0.9% to their loftiest since December 2007 Markets are cheered by hopes that Mario Draghi will signal a September rate cut and give details on potential stimulus measures amid an onslaught of earnings with about 60 companies reporting their earnings today. Cars to chemicals, pharma to beer, chips to perfumes, you name it. Paris futures are clearly outperforming rest of Europe driven by heavyweights LVMH and Danone's solid results and Total's plan to sell assets worth $5 billion. In cars, Volkswagen shares are up 1.2% in early dealings after its first-half operating profit rose 10% as VW, Porsche and Skoda cars helped to offset a drop in Audi sales, but that's while Swiss engineering group ABB blamed slowing auto sector for a drastic fall in second-quarter profit. In the U.S., Ford gave weaker-than-expected forecast, sending shares down as much as 7% in after hours trading. That could dent sentiment in the sector in Europe. Although on a more positive note, Valeo confirmed its FY goals after H1 profit slump. In pharma, Switzerland's Roche shares are seen rising 2% after it raised full-year sales outlook as newer drugs fuelled first-half results. Shares in AB InBev, which makes Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, could get a boost from Q2 beat as beer sales grew at their fastest pace in five years. AB InBev took a hit earlier this month after cancelling its Asia IPO. Over to some hard liquor now, Diageo, the world's largest spirits company, reported higher profits helped by growth across all its markets. In the ever-hot chips sector, STMicro has lowered its full-year revenue target, while Siltronic and Aixtron have confirmed their outlook. German chemicals giant BASF, which earlier this month issued a profit warning, says a slump at its basic petrochemicals businesses accounted for most of the weakness in the second quarter. Earnings aside, we have some dealmaking news with U.S. buyout group offering 4 billion pounds for British engineer Cobham. Key headlines: VW H1 operating profit up 10% on higher VW, Porsche sales BASF says basic chemicals accounted for most of the slump in Q2 ABB quarterly profit plunges on automotive slowdown, solar business charge AB InBev beats earnings expectations as beer sales spike Nokia Q2 beats forecasts on rising demand Retailer Casino scraps 2020 dividend as it pursues debt-cutting plans Clariant, SABIC halt talks to form chemicals venture France's Schneider Electric H1 results top estimates; raises outlook Food group Danone's Q2 sales accelerate as China baby food arm improves Orange Q2 revenue stabilises in France on improving market conditions STMicroelectronics Lowers FY Net Revenue Target To Around $9.35-9.65 Bln Siltronic confirms outlook after slide in Q2 earnings Aixtron Confirms 2019 Guidance For Sales And Orders After Q2 Vuitton, Moncler set high bar for luxury goods peers Unilever second-quarter sales growth falls short of estimates Anglo American returns cash to shareholders, reports multiple fatal incidents Advent Intl agree to buy UK engineer Cobham for $5 bln (Thyagaraju Adinarayan) ***** EUROPEAN STOCKS WARM-UP TO ECB; BUSY EARNINGS DAY (0534 GMT) European stocks are seen opening higher ahead of the ECB's monetary policy meeting, where Mario Draghi is widely expected to signal a September rate cut. Its also one of the busiest day of the earnings season with a slew of reports pouring in. Swiss drugmaker Roche lifted its full-year sales outlook and AB InBev Q2 beats expectations after beer sales grew at their fastest pace in five years. Financial spreadbetters IG expect London's FTSE to open 17 points higher at 7,519, Frankfurt's DAX to open 51 points up at 12,574, and Paris' CAC to open 24 points higher at 5,630. (Thyagaraju Adinarayan) ***** (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Josephine Mason and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)