LIVE MARKETS-What's on the radar: Sainsbury's, Glencore, Air France

Feb 20 - 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: SAINSBURY (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 'S, GLENCORE (Frankfurt: 8GC.F - news) , AIR FRANCE (Paris: FR0000031122 - news) (0749 GMT)

Signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks, and President Trump saying the March 1 deadline

is not “magical”, boosted Asian shares to 4 ½ month highs overnight and were set to drive

European shares up in early deals too.

Results from UK lender Lloyds, miner Glencore, German healthcare group Fresenius (Swiss: FRE-EUR.SW - news) , and French

airline Air France would dominate trading as the European earnings season continued.

Fresenius said it expects earnings to stagnate this year due to investments to improve its

German hospitals and scale up its home dialysis business. But its shares are seen up 1-2 percent

as news of faster earnings growth from 2020 and a 1 billion euro share buyback was well

received.

Sainsbury’s shares are expected to slide as much as 5-10 percent after Britain’s competition

regulator said the supermarket chain’s merger with Asda could be blocked. The share price fall

could spill over into Morrisons and Tesco (Swiss: TSCO.SW - news) – indicated down 2 to 3 percent - as investors reset

their expectations of M&A in the food retail space.

Strain in UK retailers is again front and centre with both household furnishings firm Laura

Ashley and professional cleaning retailer McBride (LSE: MCB.L - news) indicated down 15 percent after profit

warnings.

French flag carrier Air France will fall 2-3 percent, traders said, after reporting weaker

than expected unit revenue.

Glencore, meanwhile, is seen gaining 3 percent after announcing a new $2 billion share

buyback scheme.

(Helen Reid)

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TRADE TALK PROGRESS BOOSTS EUROPEAN FUTURES (0720 GMT)

Futures have opened up higher as traders bet on progress in U.S.-China trade talks, while

results from UK lender Lloyds Bank and miner Glencore have come in. Sainsbury's shares could be

hurt by Britain's competition regulator saying its merger with Asda could be blocked.

Glencore announces $2 bln buyback plan, 2018 earnings rise

Sainsbury's-Asda merger could be blocked-UK regulator

Lloyds Bank posts 24 percent profit rise, unveils $2.3 bln buyback

(Helen Reid)

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EARNINGS: FRESENIUS, SCOR, TELEFONICA (LSE: 826858.L - news) , AIR FRANCE (0654 GMT)

Besides the encouraging noises from Washington on trade negotiations, results are likely to

drive the day today with French reinsurer Scor, airline Air France, and Spanish telecoms firm

Telefonica among those reporting.

There's also a bit of M&A with Dubai-based port operator DP World (Stuttgart: 3535769.SG - news) buying the UK's P&O

Ferries for 332 million pounds ($421 million).

Here's a roundup of the headlines so far:

Fresenius expects earnings to stagnate in 2019 as investments weigh

Telefonica sales up 3.2 pct in Q4, FY OIBDA up 5.3 pct

French reinsurer Scor's 2018 profit soars despite natural disasters

Air France-KLM (LSE: 0LN7.L - news) battles fuel costs with deeper integration

DP World buys Britain-based P&O Ferries for $421 mln

German regulator intervenes to halt cryptocurrency offering - source

Investor Cat Rock says Just Eat (Frankfurt: A1100K - news) shareholders back merger proposal

(Helen Reid)

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GOOD SIGNS FROM U.S.-CHINA NEGOTIATIONS TO PUSH EUROPEAN STOCKS UP (0636 GMT)

Signs of progress in deputy-level talks, which began yesterday, helped push Asian shares up

overnight and spreadbetters see that optimism seeping over into European trading.

Trump said on Tuesday that trade talks with China were going well and suggested he was open

to pushing off the deadline to complete negotiations, saying March 1 was not a "magical" date.

Higher-level talks involving Mnuchin and led by USTR Robert Lighthizer are expected to begin

on Thursday.

Asian stocks advanced to 4-1/2-month highs on Wednesday as investors bet that Chinese and

U.S. trade negotiators would be able to secure a deal to de-escalate their year-long tariff war.

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 2 points higher at 7,181, the DAX is expected to open 4

points higher at 11,313, and the CAC 40 is expected to open 8 points higher at 5,168, according

to spreadbetters CMC Markets (LSE: CMCX.L - news) .

(Helen Reid)

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(Reporting by Helen Reid, Danilo Masoni, Julien Ponthus)