LIVE MARKETS-Post-holiday shock!

* FTSE trading delayed by almost 2 hours due to technical glitch * STOXX 600 +1%, Germany's DAX +0.98, FTSE 100 +0.3% * European semis rise after solid results from Nvidia * INCD slumps 11% after Q2 miss * 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: josephine.mason.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net POST-HOLIDAY SHOCK! (1356 GMT) It's only going to get worse from here, BNP Paribas economists say. "Those returning from summer holidays have had a bit of a shock, with the global outlook left looking decisively gloomier by escalating U.S.–China trade tensions, the Argentinian crisis, unrest in Hong Kong and renewed Italian political jitters," they write in a note. And, they say a further escalation is now the most likely outcome on the U.S.-China trade front, blaming it on the tough negotiating tactics pursued by the U.S. In Europe, Germany is already in recession and BNP says the euro zone is on the brink of one hit by persistent uncertainty and the downturn of the global capex cycle. BNP says "recent events mark a tipping point for economies that are structurally more dependent on trade (eg, Germany)". But, the bank believes the U.S. will only slow down and not tip into a recession -- "we expect the US economy to manage a soft landing and rebound in the second half of next year." On the other hand, BNP points to the ECB's view that the probability of a recession is "pretty low" and says the statement looks "overly optimistic". (Thyagaraju Adinarayan) ***** BEER O'CLOCK (1032 GMT) It's Friday, it's been a wild week on the markets and everyone deserves a big drink. Ahead of beer o'clock, let's look into what millenials prefer drinking. A Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey shows that the calorie-conscious generation prefer spirits over beer. Wine and craft beers still top the charts in the overall alcohol category, but only a third of those polled said beer was their favourite, down from 39% last year. In the spirits category, millenials prefer quaffing bourbon and vodka. But the more worrying factor for both beer and spirit makers is the sharp reduction in alcohol intake by the next gens. (see chart below) "This year's survey confirms the trend on alcohol moderation being on the rise," BAML analysts write in a note. "This is in line with decreasing per capita consumption trends of alcohol across both the UK and the US." With that... cheers! (Thyagaraju Adinarayan) ***** OPENING SNAPSHOT: FTSE FAILS TO OPEN, REST OF EUROPE RALLIES (0748 GMT) Weird start to Friday as FTSE 100 & midcap 250 indices fail to open, due to a technical glitch, while rest of Europe is open for business and is enjoying a decent rally. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 are leading gainers, rising 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively. As expected, European semiconductor stocks are rising 2-3% after better than expected results from Nvidia and Applied Materials. Tech is the top sectoral gainer in Europe, followed by utilities. (Thyagaraju Adinarayan) ***** BOUNCING BACK IN SUMMER DOLDRUMS (0640 GMT) European stock futures are bouncing back this morning as hints about more stimulus measures in China and decent results from U.S. companies overnight including gaming chip maker Nvidia , chip gear maker Applied Materials and Walmart soothe worries about the slowing global economy. Euro-zone stock futures are up 0.6% after hitting their lowest since late March yesterday and DAX stock futures are up 0.6%, recovering from February lows. Still, the European benchmarks and are set for their third straight weekly loss. Italy's bourse will play catch-up reopening after yesterday's bank holiday and its utilities stocks may garner some support from defensive buying after the big drop in bond yields. The better-than-expected U.S. chip results are expected to give the European semiconductor sector, which has borne much of the brunt of recent selling on trade jitters, a boost. Applied Materials, which is often seen as a barometer for chip demand, cautioned that a recovery in the memory chip market is unlikely before 2020, but it may well be priced in as it echoes similar guidance from other European chip companies. There's very little news on the corporate front as we enter the height of summer doldrums (although here in London, you wouldn't know it based on the gloomy weather). Several private equity suitors are considering walking away from BASF's sale of its construction-chemicals business as the auction becomes increasingly focused on corporate buyers, Bloomberg has reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Solvay has agreed to sell its polyamide business to BASF and Domo. BASF which is buying the assets outside of Europe, is paying 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion). (Josephine Mason) ***** NO LET-UP IN SIGHT IN EUROPE YET (0523 GMT) It's been a brutal week on markets amid worries about the health of the global economy and things may not get significantly better today even after reports of dovish comments from Finland's central banker Olli Rehn yesterday and gains on Wall Street overnight after decent retail sales data. IG financial spreadbetters expect London's FTSE to open 20 points lower at 7,112, Frankfurt's DAX to open 13 points lower at 11,479, and Paris' CAC to open 15 points higher at 5,266. Europe's STOXX 600 benchmark is on track for a third straight weekly drop and a more than 5% fall for the August, only its second monthly drop this year. (Josephine Mason) ***** ($1 = 0.9007 euros) (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Josephine Mason and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)