LIVE MARKETS-Trade deal if off, err... no it's on now

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 TRADE DEAL IF OFF, ERR... NO IT'S ON NOW (1023 GMT) Okay, where are we in the trade deal cycle? That's the $70 trillion (market value of global stocks) question. Last afternoon, it looked like the deal could be one year away but now, apparently, it's back to something like 10 days. A Bloomberg report citing "people familiar with the talks" said U.S. negotiators expect a phase-one deal with China to be completed before American tariffs are set to rise on Dec. 15. But who knows? By the time you finish reading this post, it might just change again. This situation does look like this satirical chart doing the rounds on Twitter: (Thyagaraju Adinarayan) ***** OPENING SNAPSHOT: SMALL GAINS, ORANGE DRAGS TELCOS (0827 GMT) Not a bad start. Remember we've had good starts this week but some terrible finishes. The pan-European STOXX 600 is up 0.2% as a decent run in chip stocks offsets losses in the teclo sector. Orange is the big blue-chip dragging the telco sector lower. The French telco is sliding 3.5% to 2-1/2 month lows after disappointment over its weak dividend forecast in its fresh strategic targets. In other moves, Zurich Airport operator down 2.3% on discounted share sale; Ubisoft up 5% after Morgan Stanley upgrades to "overweight", according to traders. (Thyagaraju Adinarayan) ***** BUY THE DIP? TELCOS, QUIZ, ZURICH AIRPORT IN FOCUS (0756 GMT) Stock futures of most of the European bourses point to a slight bounce back as investors bargain hunt after four straight days of losses. London's FTSE 100 is the only index seen opening lower as it still finds it difficult to nurse bruises from a rising sterling and the longer and broader trade war. "...what a difference a couple of days can make. Mr Trump has completely taken the momentum out of financial markets this week," Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid says. On the corporate news front, French telco Orange is seen rising 1% on its plans to carve out its mobile towers in most European countries. Rival Iliad is seen rising 1% after it announces share buyback. Traders call fast fashion retailer QUIZ's shares down as much as 20% at the open after it reported a sharp drop in profits, in another evidence that British high street retailers continue to face a hard time. Discounted share offering by Zurich Airport operator and Cancom are expected to drive their shares lower. Zurich Airport is seen falling 5%. Airbus shares are seen rising after United Airlines orders 50 new long-range jets. Meanwhile, French jet engine maker Safran's CEO voiced caution over the ability of aerospace supply chain to ramp up quickly once Boeing 737 MAX grounding gets lifted. Headlines to digest: Roche wins FDA approval for immunotherapy cocktail against lung cancer Telecoms group Orange kicks off the carving-out of its towers in Europe Safran CEO cautious on supply chain once Boeing grounding lifted United orders 50 new Airbus long-range jets to replace Boeing 757s (Thyagaraju Adinarayan) ***** Tentative gains? (0651 GMT) European stocks point to a tentative bounce back after indexes declined for four straight days amid growing worries of a longer and broader trade war. "Any doubts about the vulnerability of equity markets to the mood of the US President should have been dispelled, as his recent tweets and comments have wiped out the entirety of November's gains," Ian Williams, economics & strategy analyst at Peel Hunt, said. Financial spreadbetters IG expect London's FTSE to open 11 points higher at 7,170, Frankfurt's DAX to open 62 points higher at 13,052 and Paris' CAC to open 27 points higher at 5,754. (Thyagaraju Adinarayan) ***** (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)