Yahoo Finance 
LIVE MARKETS-What we're watching before the open
* European shares seen higher after holiday break
* In Asia, shares gain after record Wall Street bounce
* Eyes on Vinci (LSE: 0NQM.L - news) after move for Gatwick, Italian banks 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
WHAT WE'RE WATCHING BEFORE THE OPEN (0736 GMT)
The Dow's record bounce of more than 1,000 points is set to lift European shares farther away from the two-year lows hit before the two-day Christmas break with futures on the DAX, FTSE 100 and CAC indexes last up 0.4-1.4 percent.
That however won't change the picture for the whole 2018 which sees the pan European STOXX 600 benchmark firmly set for its worst year in a decade, down nearly 14 percent so far.
On the corporate from there is M&A news in the airports sector with France's Vinci Airports saying it would buy a majority stake in London Gatwick for $3.7 bln, while Italian banks could also be in focus as the fate of troubled lender Carige was put back into question after its top family shareholder blocked a vital cash call.
Other stock movers:
S.Korea to file complaint against BMW (EUREX: BMWE.EX - news) for "delayed" response to engine fires
Big discounts fail to draw UK shoppers to post-Christmas sales
Rusal (HKSE: 0486-OL.HK - news) board chairman quits as part of U.S. sanctions waiver deal
Sanofi (LSE: 0O59.L - news) 's paediatric hexavalent vaccine approved by U.S. FDA
Visa (Xetra: A0NC7B - news) to buy Earthport (Frankfurt: EAPA.F - news) for 198 mln stg
(Danilo Masoni)
*****
MORNING CALL: DOW'S 1,000-POINTS SURGE SET TO LIFT SPIRITS IN EUROPE (0640 GMT)
European shares are expected to open higher today following the Christmas break with yesterday's more than 1,000 points surge on the Dow Jones set to calm those worries over an economic slowdown and political instability that had sent major regional benchmarks to their lowest levels in two years or more.
"Thankfully for investors, the relentless selling on the back of risk-off sentiment which prevailed leading up to Xmas has mercifully halted as US stock markets recorded significant gains with the Dow surging over 1000 points while adding the most significant points gain in history," says Stephen Innes, Head of Trading APAC at OANDA.
Over in Asia, the Wall Street rally, upbeat U.S. data and the Trump administration's effort to shore up investor confidence sent shares rising with MSCI (Frankfurt: 3HM.F - news) 's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan last up 0.6 percent.
Early indications from FTSE and DAX stock index futures are pointing to gains of 0.6-0.7 percent.
(Danilo Masoni)
*****
