LIVE MARKETS-What's on the radar: Siltronic pain, Airbus gain

June 18 - 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: SILTRONIC PAIN, AIRBUS GAIN (0647 GMT) European stocks are expected to slide after Siltronic became the latest chipmaker to warn the U.S.-China trade war was denting its business, and as investors eye rising Middle East tensions, slipping crude prices and worrying economic indicators warily ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision on Wednesday. German semiconductor wafer maker Siltronic’s profit warning comes hot on the heels of Broadcom’s last week. It douses any remaining hopes of a promised second-half recovery in the chip sector, with management saying the third quarter would likely see sales slide further after a Q2 “significantly below” the first quarter. Siltronic’s shares are down 10% in pre-market trading, with shareholder Wacker Chemie also down 1.8%. Traders see the warning hurting semiconductor stocks across the region. Shares in German chipmaker Infineon are down 3.8% in premarket trading after it launched a 1.5 billion euro capital increase to help fund its acquisition of Cypress Semiconductor. Outside the tech sector, Airbus shares are seen rising 0.5-1% after sources told Reuters that American Airlines Group is edging toward a deal with Airbus to buy up to 50 newly launched A321XLR extended-range narrow-body aircraft. Shares in German wind turbine maker Nordex are climbing 2.1% in pre-market trading after the company received a 300 MegaWatt order from Engie in the U.S.. Danish medical equipment firm Ambu is seen falling 2-5% after it cut its 2018/19 organic growth, margin, and free cash flow outlook. Sweden's oldest bank Swedbank said it had suspended the CEO and CFO of its Estonian business with immediate effect, after an investigation into compliance with money-laundering rules at the bank. The stock has already lost 33% in just 4 months over money-laundering concerns. In M&A news, Finnish IT services and consulting firm Tieto announced plans to merge with Norway's Evry. The deal terms value Evry at 35.48 Norwegian krone per share - a 15.4% premium to the stock's closing price. Dutch fund administration firm Intertrust is seen gaining 4-5%, traders said, after it acquired U.S. financial services technology firm Viteos for $300 million. Car stocks are expected to gain after European car sales notched up their first month of growth in nine, traders said. (Helen Reid) ***** EUROPEAN FUTURES SLIP AFTER SILTRONIC PROFIT WARNING (0620 GMT) Futures for the main European stock indices are down 0.1 to 0.2%, with just the FTSE 100 holding on to a 0.1% gain. An extended drop in crude prices on further fears of slowing economic growth is dousing investors' confidence, while rising tensions in the Middle East are also heightening nerves. The New York Federal Reserve said on Monday that its gauge of business growth in New York state posted a record fall this month to its weakest level in more than 2 1/2 years, suggesting an abrupt contraction in regional activity. Siltronic shares are down 10.3% in early trade after the chipmaker's profit warning (more in the previous blog), with shareholder Wacker Chemie also falling 1.8%. In the UK, equipment rental company Ashtead and Telecom Plus have reported results. Telecom Plus annual profit boosted by more customers Ashtead posts 17% rise in annual profit on Sunbelt growth (Helen Reid) ***** MORE TROUBLE IN CHIP-LAND: SILTRONIC WARNS (0555 GMT) Siltronic has become the latest chipmaker to warn U.S. restrictions on exports to China would hurt sales and profitability, saying it expects Q2 sales to be "significantly below" first-quarter levels with a further decline likely in the third quarter. That last bit is significant as chipmakers around the world had previously been guiding investors to a second-half recovery - and Siltronic's outlook on Q3 seems to make it clear they don't see things getting better very soon. "Current consensus has Q2 sales falling -12% from Q1 then rebounding +2% quarter-on-quarter from the Q2 trough, which isn’t going to happen," says one trader. The profit warning comes hot on the heels of U.S. chipmaker Broadcom's late last Thursday which knocked stock markets the following day. Chipmakers and tech more broadly will be in focus this morning. (Helen Reid) ***** MAKING HEADLINES: INFINEON CAPITAL RAISE, TIETO-EVRY MERGER, SWEDBANK, AIRBUS (0548 GMT) Shares in German chipmaker Infineon are down 3.8% in premarket trading after it launched a 1.5 billion euro capital increase to help fund its acquisition of Cypress Semiconductor. Also yesterday evening, Sweden's oldest bank Swedbank said it had suspended the CEO and CFO of its Estonian business with immediate effect, after an investigation into compliance with money-laundering rules at the bank. The stock, which has already lost 33% in just 4 months, could be bruised again by this today. In M&A news, Finnish IT services and consulting firm Tieto announced plans to merge with Norway's Evry. The deal terms value Evry at 35.48 Norwegian krone per share - a 15.4% premium to the stock's closing price. Dutch fund administration firm Intertrust acquired U.S. financial services technology firm Viteos for $300 million. Spanish utility Iberdrola announced plans to launch an Irish retail business, and invest more than 100 million euros in renewable energy and storage projects in Ireland and Northern Ireland by 2025. And Airbus won long-term lease placements for two new aircraft from Air Lease Corporation, with sources telling us leasing giant GECAS is also in talks to place an order for the newly launched Airbus A321XLR. Here's the news on our radar: Infineon launches 1.5 bln euro capital hike to help fund Cypress deal Iberdrola to launch Irish retail arm, invest $112 mln in renewables by 2025 Swedbank suspends CEO, CFO of Estonian unit Banks to include CO2 emission measures in shipping loan decisions Tieto And EVRY To Merge Intertrust Acquires Viteos For USD 330 Million Ipsen Initiates Share Buyback Program To Cover Its New Free Share Allocation Plan Dassault Systemes raises funds for healthcare software firm BioSerenity French drugmaker Sanofi, Google to use data tech for innovations Air Lease signs long-term lease placements for four Airbus jets GECAS close to ordering Airbus A321XLR -sources (Helen Reid) ***** EUROPEAN STOCKS SET FOR UNCERTAIN OPEN AS MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS, FED EYED (0529 GMT) European stocks are seen opening mixed this morning, with the DAX expected to fall while the FTSE 100 makes slight gains. Rising tensions in the Middle East - as the U.S. announces the deployment of about 1,000 more troops, citing concerns about a threat from Iran - could be making investors nervy, while anticipation ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting is also holding them back from decisive action. Investor caution ahead of the Fed's interest rate meeting capped Asian stocks overnight while crude oil prices retreated as global growth worries overshadowed supply concerns stemming from recent Middle East tensions. Financial spreadbetters at IG expect London's FTSE to open 12 points higher at 7,369, Frankfurt's DAX to open 16 points down at 12,069, and Paris' CAC to open 3 points lower at 5,388. (Helen Reid) ***** (Reporting by Helen Reid, Danilo Masoni, Josephine Mason and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)