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LIVE MARKETS-What's on the radar ahead of the open
* European shares seen rising
* Asian trading calmer on hopes of smaller Trump tariff
* ECB meeting awaited
* Results from Uniper (Swiss: UNIPE.SW - news) , Akzo Nobel (Amsterdam: AKZA.AS - news) , Merck (LSE: 0O14.L - news) , JCDecaux
Welcome to the home for real time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters
stocks reporters and anchored today by Helen Reid. Reach her on Messenger to share your thoughts
on market moves: helen.reid.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
WHAT'S ON THE RADAR AHEAD OF THE OPEN (0758 GMT)
European shares are set to rise after the U.S. administration cooled investors’ trade war
fears with more conciliatory talk of potential carve-outs from the new tariff regime.
Investors in Europe await the ECB meeting, which Societe Generale (Swiss: 519928.SW - news) analysts said was expected
not to yield any significant changes in tone, with the central bank taking care not to rock the
boat amid jittery markets.
Results continue to roll in from European corporates including Akzo Nobel, Merck, Uniper,
JCDecaux (LSE: 0MGO.L - news) , Hugo Boss (IOB: 0Q8F.IL - news) and Aviva (Other OTC: AIVAF - news) . Overall European corporates’ profit growth has so far outpaced
that of U.S. firms.
Hugo Boss is indicated down up to 5 percent in pre-market indications with traders pointing
to disappointing guidance. Countrywide (Frankfurt: A1H56R - news) is seen losing 10 percent or more, after a
profit warning.
M&A developments could also create heat today:
Renault (LSE: 0NQF.L - news) shares are indicated down as much as 4 percent after France said it was not prepared
to sell its stake to Nissan.
(Helen Reid)
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EARLY MORNING EUROPEAN HEADLINES ROUND UP (0742 GMT)
Here are your top market-moving headlines this morning:
Chinese competition weighs on Merck KGaA's 2018 outlook
Akzo Nobel expects headwinds from material costs in 2018
EXCLUSIVE-Five banks open up trillion dollar gold club
Uniper profit drops on weaker gas optimisation business
Vivendi CEO not worried about Elliott's move on Telecom Italia (Amsterdam: TI6.AS - news) - paper
Roche names Pao head of drugs research and early development
Linde (IOB: 0H3X.IL - news) sees slight gain in earnings on industrial gases
Julius Baer (LSE: 0QO6.L - news) sets up venture with Siam Commercial Bank to tap Thai wealth
Axel Springer (Swiss: SPR.SW - news) guides for faster growth in core profits
Hugo Boss upbeat for 2018 on brand shift to win young customers
Nissan says Renault-Nissan-M'bishi has no plans to change cross-shareholding ratio
Retailer Casino eyes further profit growth in 2018
France's JCDecaux sees slowing growth in first quarter
Prudential (SES: K6S.SI - news) 's Malaysia unit in stake sale talks with pension fund as regulatory
Univision Communications CEO to retire at year end
British estate agent Countrywide posts 22.5 pct drop in FY core earnings
UK's G4S (Copenhagen: G4S.CO - news) posts revenue slightly below expectations but outlook bright
French utility Engie (LSE: 0LD0.L - news) surprises with 2018 dividend increase
Aviva plans 500 mln stg share buyback, 2017 profit up 2 pct
(Danilo Masoni)
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EUROPEAN STOCK FUTURES EDGE UP (0721 GMT)
European stock index futures have opened up slightly (+0.2-0.4%), as trade war fears
appeared to ease and the immediate focus shifted to the ECB's policy meeting later today.
(Danilo Masoni)
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RESULTS ROLL IN FROM AKZO NOBEL, MERCK, UNIPER (0650 GMT)
Some more earnings to keep an eye on today.
Paints maker Akzo Nobel plans to increase prices and cut costs as it expects
rising raw material costs to continue to weigh in 2018.
Merck points to intense competition from China for its liquid crystals used in
flat screens as a dampener for its earnings, which slipped 6.5 percent as a stronger euro also
weighed.
And German utility Uniper, in which Fortum (LSE: 0HAH.L - news) has agreed to buy a 46.65
percent stake, reported an 18 percent decline in full-year profit due to weaker performance from
its gas optimisation business.
And in the latest overnight development after Reuters' report yesterday that Nissan
was in talks to buy the French government's stake in Renault, the Japanese car company
said the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (LSE: 7035.L - news) alliance had no plans to change cross-shareholding ratios of
its member companies.
(Helen Reid)
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"NOT MUCH NEW INFORMATION" EXPECTED FROM ECB (0632 GMT)
Societe Generale strategists don't see today's ECB meeting as likely to deliver any huge
revelations, partly due to the central bank stepping on eggshells in a more jittery market.
"The recent communication wobbles have largely been resolved, with the focus firmly on
keeping expectations of a first rate hike at bay," SocGen (Paris: FR0000130809 - news) writes in a note. "Given heightened
market sensitivity, it is likely too early for the ECB to contemplate any changes in the APP
guidance."
They reckon the new forecasts from the central bank could point to slightly higher growth
and inflation this year, but core inflation should remain unchanged.
"As before, we believe the ECB is moving dangerously slowly with its normalisation process,
not only running the risk of missing the window offered by the strong economic conditions but
also of undermining the role of monetary policy in future macroeconomic stabilisation efforts,"
strategists warn.
(Helen Reid)
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MORNING CALL: TRADE FEARS FADE, EUROPEAN INVESTORS AWAIT ECB (0613 GMT)
European shares are set for a calmer trading day today as fears about a global trade war
fade, with the U.S. administration giving signs the tariffs could include carve-outs for key
partners.
In Europe all eyes will be on the ECB today as investors hope to glean further hints from
Mario Draghi about what will happen after September this year when the current bond-buying
programme is expected to come to an end.
The FTSE is called to open flat at 7,158 points, the DAX is seen opening 23 points higher at
12,268 points, and the CAC 40 is expected to gain 16 points to 5,204 points.
(Helen Reid)
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