LIVE MARKETS-Real estate: What's hot and what's not amid Brexit and trade wars
* European shares higher
* Ericsson (Hanover: ERCB.HA - news) , ASML (Milan: ASML.MI - news) led tech stocks after results
* Banks down as Danske weighs
* Powell: Years of strong jobs, low inflation still ahead
July 18 (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
REAL ESTATE: WHAT'S HOT AND WHAT'S NOT AMID BREXIT AND TRADE WARS (1512 GMT)
We spoke to a real estate equities investor to get their take on how stalling Brexit
negotiations and deepening trade disputes inform their picks of real estate investment trusts
(REITs) across Europe.
Today's ONS inflation stats showed UK house prices had their weakest growth since August
2013 in May.
It's a further sign of strain in Britain's housing market which some connect to Brexit, but
Rogier Quirijns, portfolio manager at Cohen & Steers (NYSE: CNS - news) , says he's been negative on London
residential property for eight years already.
Here are some more nuggets from Quirijns, who runs what's currently the top-performing
European property fund:
- Continental European cities preferred. Berlin is "on fire", he says, for residential
property. While London office market is at a cycle peak, continental Europe is further away:
fund is invested in office space in Madrid, Paris, Oslo and Germany.
- Underweight retail real estate as commercial retail values are being written down with
retailers including Debenhams (Frankfurt: D2T.F - news) and House of Fraser closing stores
- Quirijns backs industrial logistics as a cross-cutting theme in Europe and the UK, which
stands to gain from rising e-commerce
- On UK residential: "If things really get bad, if rents drop, I could invest. If the blood
flows in the streets then I could go back in."
- On trade war: "That is work we are doing right now." Quirijns suggests turning more
towards income investments (like healthcare property) and away from cyclical exposure (like
office space). In the event of car tariffs, he would stick to German residential property but
likely sell German office space due to the country's high dependence on the autos industry
Below you can see UK REITs have significantly underperformed Europe REITs since the Brexit
vote in June 2016:
(Helen Reid)
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UK GOVERNMENT INFIGHTING MAKES NO BREXIT MORE LIKELY (1222 GMT)
The likelihood of no Brexit has risen, while the probability of a soft Brexit has fallen,
Berenberg's economist Holger Schmieding reckons, as the market digests news PM May threatened
pro-EU rebels with a general election this summer.
"If snap elections yielded a Labour-led coalition, the new government may choose to put the
question back to the voters," writes Schmieding.
He ups his estimate of a no Brexit likelihood from 5 to 10 percent, and takes his soft
Brexit estimate from 15 to 10 percent.
A sure sign anxiety over the future of the UK government is rising, opinion polls have
started reappearing in analyst notes. Below, the latest showing Labour gaining the edge over
Conservatives once again.
Fears around Brexit aren't only denting confidence in the UK - analysts are becoming
increasingly pessimistic on Euro zone companies with high UK exposure, HSBC points out in a
note.
(Helen Reid)
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EUROPE'S CAR SECTOR CONFIDENCE HIT AS TRADE TENSIONS RISE (1146 GMT)
Many investors are sticking to their guns and asserting that tariffs haven't caused any
direct damage to the economy yet, and likely won't hurt markets hugely beyond a sentiment
impact.
But UBS economists find Europe's car sector confidence has been hit by potential car
tariffs, especially in autos hub Germany, though they say the link to potential tariffs is so
far "tentative".
"European Commission business confidence data shows that export expectations for motor
vehicles and basic metals are among the three sectors that have seen the steepest declines since
end-2017," they note.
The data also shows the sharpest decline in production expectations for motor vehicles
products.
Germany's Ifo survey showed autos sector export expectations declined the most across all
manufacturing sectors since end-2017, while the ZEW survey also showed a big decline in the
autos sector.
UBS (LSE: 0QNR.L - news) ' baseline scenario sees a 10-30 percent decline in investment and 30-50 percent less car
exports to the U.S., causing a 0.2 percentage point hit to growth.
Here are their scenarios for the potential impact of car tariffs on the Euro zone's economic
growth:
(Helen Reid)
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RELIEF FOR SEMICONDUCTORS (1118 GMT)
Tech weighs little on the European market but today it's providing the biggest boost to the
STOXX and most of that is due to semiconductor bellwether ASML's strong results.
But what does the update tell us about the broader semiconductor industry, recently hit by
worries over trade wars and earlier this year by concerns about peaking demand?
We asked Neil Campling, co-head Global Thematic Group at Mirabaud Securities.
"The wider context is one of relief because the trade wars were seen as potentially
disrupting the semiconductor chain and ASML is seen as the gold standard in the industry. Their
equipment is such a high expense that you may have had some expect to see more order pushouts
because of the uncertainty. So they delivered well in this uncertain macro environment and that
is leading to relief for the broader semi tape," he says.
There is, however, something to be somewhat cautious about.
"What's less clear is how tariffs may impact some end demand verticals in the second half of
the year or if the rising interest environment may crimp demand. This is why the inventory
trends and lead times will be closely watched when guidance is given by companies over the next
few weeks," he adds.
To conclude, Campling says a short term cyclical peak seems likely but the focus now is how
shallow the dip will be.
(Danilo Masoni)
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MINERS SET FOR A RESULTS-DRIVEN REVIVAL? (1010 GMT)
One of the best-performing sectors in Europe for most of the first half, miners have
suffered recently from a cocktail of trade tensions, weaker China data, a stronger dollar and
concerns around emerging markets.
But Goldman analysts remain positive on mining, expecting balance sheets to show net cash
positions by the end of 2018 / first-half 2019.
They see trade tensions as mainly a sentiment impact, reiterating the impact on growth
should be "negligible".
So, what to watch in upcoming results?
"We believe that consensus is underestimating the potential scale of returns the miners
could make, the more so as their balance sheets are now robust and free cash flows strong, with
no significant growth capex scheduled," write GS analysts.
They expect the biggest dividend upside from Glencore (Frankfurt: 8GC.F - news) , Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) and
BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) .
GS' top picks globally are Glencore, First Quantum, Lundin Mining, and
Nyrstar (Berlin: 32660160.BE - news) - all exposed to metals which they're positive on (copper, zinc, thermal coal).
On free cash flow they like Glencore and Anglo American.
They also highlight valuation as a key metric, pointing out that Aurubis (IOB: 0K7F.IL - news) and Kumba
- which they rate as "sell" - trade at premiums.
Below you can see earnings revisions for Europe's mining sector have been trending higher
into the results season:
(Helen Reid)
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OPENING SNAPSHOT: EUROPE UP AS EARNINGS DOMINATE (0714 GMT)
It really is all about earnings this morning as European shares open higher, led by a strong
bounce across tech stocks as updates from Ericsson and ASML get a warm reception.
Banks are on the backfoot though as Danske Bank (LSE: 0NVC.L - news) shares take a tumble after the lender's Q2
pretax profit fell short of expectations.
Here's your opening snapshot:
(Kit Rees)
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE THE OPEN (0643 GMT)
European shares are set to open higher today, helped by currency weakness as Brexit
challenges further depress the pound and the euro surrenders to a bounce in the dollar following
the Federal Reserve Chairman's upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy.
Futures on main country benchmarks were up 0.4 percent, indicating that the pan-European
STOXX 600 index could climb back to the three-week peak hit earlier this month.
A string of good-looking earnings updates could also provide support while trade worries
ease, partly helped by yesterday's wide ranging trade deal between the EU and Japan which Credit
Suisse WM said offered some relief to markets. Among the European companies that could benefit
from the deal are exporters such as Pernod Ricard (TLO: RI-U.TI - news) , LVMH, Danone (LSE: 0KFX.L - news) and Nestle (Swiss: NESN.VX - news) .
Back to earnings, shares in ASML, Ericsson, Novartis (IOB: 0QLR.IL - news) , easyJet, Electrolux and BHP are all
seen higher following their updates, while Akzo Nobel (Amsterdam: AKZA.AS - news) is seen falling after its results fell
short of expectations.
(Danilo Masoni)
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EARLY MORNING HEADLINE ROUNDUP: EARNING UPDATES LOOKING GOOD (0553 GMT)
Today's headlines are all about earnings updates and they're looking good.
Novartis says on track for 2018 growth despite Sandoz weakness
Ericsson posts surprise profit in Q2
ASML Q2 sales ahead of estimates, sees stronger H2
Software AG Q2 sales in line, slight beat on profit
Akzo Nobel misses Q2 core earnings, sales forecasts
Swedbank Q2 net profit beats forecast
Handelsbanken profit narrowly beats forecast, to guide on savings in Q3
Swatch Group expects further growth in H2 after H1 net jumps 67 pct
BHP posts record annual iron ore output, beats Q4 f'csts
Ryanair cancels 1 pct of flights on Friday as strike crisis deepens
Iraqi police disperse protesters outside Zubair oilfield as unrest grows
(Danilo Masoni)
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MORNING CALL: EUROPEAN SHARES GAINING FURTHER ON UPBEAT FED (0530 GMT)
European shares are set to open higher, building on gains scored in afternoon trading
yesterday after the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman's upbeat assessment of the economy
lifted the dollar, boosting sentiment. Jerome Powell will continue his testimony
today.
"Another bullish update with Powell once again talking up the strength of the US economy
could see the dollar extend its gains from Tuesday's session," said Jasper Lawler at London
Capital Group.
Financial spreadbetters expect London's FTSE to open 35-40 points higher, while Frankfurt's
DAX is set to open 52-54 points higher and Paris' CAC 14-16 points higher.
Over in Asia, shares followed Wall Street higher as the bullish outlook from the head of
the U.S. central bank buoyed the dollar, lifted Tokyo shares to a one-month top and sent gold to
a one-year trough.
(Danilo Masoni)
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