LIVE MARKETS-Where does Growth fit in a "growing but slowing" world?

* European shares turn lower after positive open

* Amer Sports (LSE: 0K7Y.L - news) , Ubisoft top the STOXX 600

* Ashtead and Partners Group rise after results

* Wall Street futures slide

* Asian shares struggle on trade war fears

Sept 11 (Reuters) - 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

WHERE DOES GROWTH FIT IN A "GROWING BUT SLOWING" WORLD? (1157 GMT)

One key question on investors' minds recently has been whether Growth stocks will continue

to be as good a bet in a slowing economic expansion.

Bernstein's quantitative analysts reckon Growth will continue to be the dominant factor in

an environment they characterise as "growing but slowing", and remain overweight.

But they're seeking to switch towards a more defensive measure of growth, particularly in

Europe where the "move from expansion to slowdown" makes it a safer bet. As you can see below,

Growth in Europe has significantly outperformed Value particularly since the U.S.-China trade

war started in earnest.

Tackling the perennial question of how to define growth, Bernstein's Inigo Fraser-Jenkins

and team argue it should be measured as a combination of expected growth, growth potential, and

historic growth - rather than be measured by valuation (assuming that expensive companies are

growth companies).

Among Growth companies rated Outperform by Bernstein are Europe's Ahold Delhaize,

Airbus, and Safran (LSE: 0IU8.L - news) , but Bernstein analysts note an "utter dominance" of U.S.

names in the list - which also includes retailers (surprisingly), defence, airlines, and

non-bank financials.

(Helen Reid)

*****

LESSONS FROM THE FINANCIAL CRISIS (1132 GMT)

Courtesy of Berenberg's chief economist, here are ten takeaways from the financial crisis

which rocked the world, on the tenth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers:

1. Central banks must use their tools to prevent credit and leverage excesses.

2. To prevent contagion, troubled banks must be wound down in an orderly fashion.

3. In case of a panic, central banks must intervene fast and decisively to stop the rot.

4. Only central banks can reliably stop a panic with a credible “whatever it takes”.

5. Ditch the dogma. Unconventional times can require unconventional policies.

6. After a financial crisis, countries need to restore the health of their banks fast.

7. Regulators must see to it that financial institutions have adequate shock absorbers.

8. Financial crises unleash deflationary forces. Monetary policy must act accordingly.

9. Pro-growth reforms matter more than austerity for overindebted countries.

10. Do not waste a crisis. If it happens, use it for fundamental pro-growth reforms.

Below you can see the significant, and long-lasting, effects of the crisis on GDP growth

across the globe.

But Berenberg's Holger Schmieding strikes an optimistic note, saying "Western economies have

strengthened their defences against a replay of the Lehman crisis". He foresees the next

recession happening around 2021.

For more on the crisis anniversary, every day this week Reuters will provide an expert guide

to what has changed and what has not since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. For a

graphic on the financial crisis and its aftermath, click on https://tmsnrt.rs/2wRXjI1

(Helen Reid)

*****

U.S. STILL IN THE LEAD ACROSS ASSETS AS DIVERGENCE GROWS (1119 GMT)

The U.S. remains flavour of the month with the S&P 500 now in one of its longest periods of

outperformance relative to the rest of the world, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) analysts note.

Not only this, but the U.S. is ahead of the pack on multiple other metrics too. The gap (Frankfurt: 863533 - news)

between U.S. PMIs and the rest of the world is bigger than ever, U.S. bond yields have decoupled

from the rest, and U.S. credit spreads have remained flat while in Europe they have widened.

One trader points out nearly all internationally focused ETFs (Shenzhen: 395013.SZ - news) are down year-to-date, with

only two - both focused on the U.S. - up.

But while there's been a clear divergence in equities and fixed income, GS notes

volatilities have been more synchronised - and investors can take advantage of this development

with potential for European volatility to rise.

"Long VSTOXX versus short VIX positions expiring in December or January look attractive

given the spread is close to zero, particularly with ongoing Italian political risk and the

Brexit deadline approaching," analysts at the U.S. bank recommend.

(Helen Reid)

*****

EUROPEAN SHARES FALL A LEG LOWER ON GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS (1002 GMT)

Sentiment has deteriorated here in Europe and early gains have progressively evaporated,

leaving the STOXX 600 firmly in the red, down 0.5 percent.

All sectoral indexes but one (oil) are posting losses and while it looks like there's no

clear trigger, traders are pointing to geopolitical jitters.

"Recent pullback could be attributed to escalating geopolitical tensions," says Stephane

Ekolo, strategist at Tradition Securities says. He mentions the following headlines:

* China to ask WTO for authorization to impose trade sanctions on US, citing US

non-compliance in

a 2017 ruling in a trade dispute over U.S. dumping duties begun by China in 2013.

* Iran nuclear chief tells the Associated Press that the program will be in a "stronger

position

than ever" if the atomic deal dies. (https://nyti.ms/2N7NY9a)

* US officials see Russia as main suspect in Cuba attack (https://nbcnews.to/2O8pB7N)

China's move to impose sanctions on the U.S. through the WTO relates to failed compliance on

ruling from last year on a dumping dispute which started in 2013, rather than being a ramp-up in

the latest trade tensions. But the market's reaction reflects investors' skittishness about any

trade- and geopolitics-related news.

Another trader says "We were weak before the headline, that's the latest leg lower."

Trade-sensitive autos and basic resources sectors are the worst-performing,

down 0.8 to 1 percent.

(Danilo Masoni and Helen Reid)

*****

OPENING SNAPSHOT: EUROPEAN SHARES INCH UP, AMER SPORTS SURGES (0720 GMT)

European shares are inching up in early trading, with some big moves taking centre stage.

Finnish newspaper Kauppalehti cites Bloomberg as saying Chinese firm Anta Sports Products is

considering buying Amer Sports, and the Finnish company's shares are up 11.8 percent

at the top .

Ubisoft shares are up 5.4 percent with traders citing a JP Morgan note as the

driver.

Results are also driving stocks up.

Ashtead is rising more than 4 percent after the industrial equipment rental firm

said it sees full-year earnings ahead of expectations after a strong Q1.

Partners Group meanwhile is up 4.5 percent and set for its best day in two years after

reporting first-half results with consensus-beating profit.

(Helen Reid)

*****

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING BEFORE THE OPEN: AIRBUS, CHIPMAKERS, UNICREDIT (EUREX: DE000A163206.EX - news) (0650 GMT)

European shares' rebound from the five-month lows hit last week is set to continue on

Tuesday as easing fears over the Italian budget help keep at bay continued uncertainty over the

trade dispute between the US and China. A pause in a sell-off in Chinese stocks could also help.

European stock futures are trading up as much as 0.3 percent, although FTSE futures were lagging

as the pound strengthened on expectations over a Brexit deal.

Here's your snapshot:

On the corporate front, Airbus could benefit after rival Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) said Chinese

airlines will buy 7,690 new planes worth $1.2 trillion over the next two decades, raising by

more than 6 percent its previous forecast.

In tech, chipmakers such as Infineon (Xetra: 623100 - news) and STMicro could be in the

spotlight on fresh sector dealmaking after Japan's Renesas Electronics agreed to buy Integrated

Device Technology in a $6.7 billion deal that deepens its push into semiconductors for

self-driving cars.

Also keeping an eye on shares in UniCredit after fresh speculation in Italian

paper MF about possible merger options. MF named BBVA (LSE: 931474.L - news) and ABN Amro .

And here are a couple more headlines on top of those flagged in the previous post:

Unilever (NYSE: UL - news) simplification to be through UK scheme of arrangement

Dutch merger; Pizza firm DP Eurasia's H1 profit growth slows to 8 percent

Vectura reviewing drug stockpiles as no-deal Brexit looms

Ashtead says to beat full-year guidance after strong Q1

JD Sports' half-year profit jumps 19 pct

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

EARLY MORNING HEADLINES ROUNDUP (0551 GMT)

Here are the main corporate headlines that could have an impact on stocks this morning:

U.S. appeals court invalidates Acorda patents on MS drug

Hedge fund Tiger Global ups stake in Fiat Chrysler to $1 bln -filing

Boeing ups forecast Chinese new plane purchases over 20 years by 6.2 pct

ArcelorMittal (LSE: 0NSF.L - news) ups bid for Essar Steel

Ryanair's German pilots to strike on Wednesday

Five telecom groups make initial bids in Italy's 5G auction, Iliad (LSE: 0MGY.L - news) wins frequency

Russia's Aeroflot orders 100 Sukhoi Superjets

Aryzta (IOB: 0MFY.IL - news) gives details of plan to raise €800 million euros to boost finances

Novartis (IOB: 0QLR.IL - news) 's Alcon unit to have headquarters in Geneva after spin-off

EU lawmakers back 45 pct CO2 cut for cars, vans by 2030

Danske Bank (LSE: 0NVC.L - news) to publish results of Estonia money laundering case on Sept 19

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

MORNING CALL: EUROPEAN SHARES SEEN HIGHER (0523 GMT)

European shares are expected to extend gains seen yesterday when easing concerns over the

Italian budget helped offset continued uncertainty over the trade dispute between Washington and

Beijing that sent the STOXX to five-month lows in the previous week.

Financial spreadbetters expect London's FTSE to open 11 points higher at 7,290, Frankfurt's

DAX to open 30 points higher at 12,017 and Paris' CAC to open 17 points higher at 5,287.

Over in Asia, shares struggled to avoid a ninth straight session of losses, writes Wayne

Cole from Sydney, as the spectre of a Sino (Dusseldorf: 1205802.DU - news) -U.S. trade war haunted investors, while the pound

perched near a five-week top on hints a Brexit deal might be nearer.

(Danilo Masoni)

*****