Last checked at 
* European shares off highs, up 0.1%
* Investors await Fed, other cenbank decisions
* Vifor rallies after takeover deal
* U.S. stock futures dip
Dec 14 - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters
reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com
"EQUITY BULLISHNESS IS ALIVE AND WELL" (1121 GMT)
The above quote is one of the highlights of the European section of the latest monthly fund
manager survey by BofA Global Research.
Here are key findings from the poll:
* 28% expect the rally in European equities to continue until at least Q4 2022
* 10% think equities have already peaked and 15% expect it to peak in Q1
* 62% see 5-10% upside for European equities next year
* 12% expect more than 10% upside
* Net 20% regard the market as undervalued, the largest proportion since March 2019
* 42% see reducing equity exposure too early as the biggest risk to their portfolio
* 23% think the key risk is reducing equity exposure too late, up from 9% in November
(Danilo Masoni)
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STOXX BOUNCES FROM 1-WEEK LOW
European stocks are off to a positive start with the STOXX 600 bouncing from from a
1-week low, although worries about possible hawkish central bank surprises and uncertainty over
the Omicron variant keeping traders on the cautious side.
Dealmaking peppered up the session with Vifor surging 13% after Australian
biopharma giant CSL said it would buy the Swiss drugmaker for $11.7 billion.
BT Group fell to the bottom of the STOXX after entrepreneur Patrick Drahi rised his
stake in the UK telecoms firm, drawing a defensive response from the British government.
Here's your opening snapshot:
(Danilo Masoni)
*****
BIG APPLE (0830 GMT)
A marked flattening in the U.S yield curve -- with longer-dated borrowing costs taking a
tumble -- failed to lift tech shares on Monday. Instead, as the Omicron COVID variant gathered
steam, consumer staples, pharmas and other defensives benefited, balking Apple of a $3 trillion
market capitalisation.
With Wall Street futures pointing higher, and Apple's Frankfurt-listed shares up almost 1%,
Tuesday may well be the day the milestone is hit.
But in a week heavy with central bank meetings, data and expectations of hawkish policy
turns, it's anyone's guess how market moves pan out.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England's dilemma -- to hike or not to hike -- hasn't gone away.
November's payrolls increase was the biggest since tax office records began in 2014, showing
labour markets have withstood the end of a furlough scheme.
Online supermarket Ocado also provided a snapshot of the UK jobs market with a 3.9% fall in
quarterly sales, due to labour shortages.
But with the spread of Omicron triggering work-from-home advice and other restrictions, the
BoE may well choose to hold fire on Thursday.
Watch too for U.S. factory gate prices -- a reliable forward indicator for CPI -- out later
on. Having started the year below 2%, November PPI will be above 9%, polls predict.
That data is unlikely to shake conviction the Federal Reserve, starting its two-day meeting
on Tuesday, will accelerate its stimulus tapering and that the dot-plot chart of rate-setters
voting intentions will show a more hawkish turn compared to the last meeting.
That's keeping the dollar index at one week-highs and equity futures are higher. For
now, let's focus on emerging markets, where the rate hiking campaign continues unabated --
Hungary is expected to raise rates by 30 basis points and Chile by as much as 125 bps.
Key developments that should provide more direction to markets on Tuesday:
-OPEC upbeat on 2022 oil demand, says Omicron impact to be mild
-Musk sells Tesla shares worth $906.5 million
-Euro zone industrial production November
-Germany's Ifo Institute economic outlook
-Europe earnings: Ocado, Purple Bricks
(Sujata Rao)
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EUROPE: TIMID BOUNCE BACK AHEAD (0726 GMT)
Following a late reversal into negative territory yesterday on renewed Omicron jitters,
European shares are expected to bounce back timidly this morning with futures pointing to gains
of 0.2-0.4%.
Investors are nevertheless bracing for more volatility in the coming days as they await key
policy decisions by the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England which could
signal further tightening to fight inflation.
Over in Asia, concerns over the economic fallout of the new virus variant dampened risk
appetite, sending shares in most markets falling, although U.S. stock index futures pointed
north after declines in the previous session.
(Danilo Masoni)
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