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* French utilities Veolia, Suez jump on M&A deal
* Airlines easyJet, Ryanair slip on HSBC downgrade
* Stocks globally ease ahead of earnings
* Automakers in a bright spot
(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Sruthi Shankar and Medha Singh
April 12 (Reuters) - European stocks fell on Monday from
all-time highs as investors booked profits ahead of the
quarterly corporate earnings season, while two French utility
companies surged on news of a merger deal after months of
wrangling.
Shares of Veolia and Suez surged 9.7% and
7.7% after the waste and water management companies agreed on a
merger deal worth nearly 13 billion euros ($15.4 billion).
The benchmark pan-European STOXX 600 index ended
about 0.5% lower after closing at a record high on Friday, with
technology, travel and leisure and commodity
stocks leading declines.
Wall Street's main indexes also inched lower as investors
awaited economic data and the start of U.S. corporate earnings
season that could justify the sky-high valuations.
European earnings will kick into higher gear later in April,
with analysts expecting a 47.4% jump in first-quarter earnings
for STOXX 600 companies, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Much
of the support is likely to come from consumer cyclicals and
industrial firms.
UK's domestically focused FTSE mid 250 index dropped
0.4%, hovering just below a record high as shops, pubs, gyms and
hairdressers reopened after three months of lockdown.
"In the UK, the rapid vaccine roll-out and the sharp fall in
infections is clearly reassuring," said Rupert Thompson, chief
investment officer at Kingswood in London.
"Even so, the speed of the forthcoming recovery remains
uncertain."
Bets on a global economic rebound, fuelled by heaps of
stimulus, helped the STOXX 600 finally reclaim its pre-pandemic
highs last week, with its recovery hampered by slow vaccine
distributions and a new wave of infections in the continent.
The U.S. benchmark S&P 500 had made up all of its
coronavirus-driven losses by last August.
Low cost airlines easyJet and Ryanair
dropped 3.9% and 3.6% after HSBC downgraded the stocks to "hold"
on concerns over a return in demand as the economy reopens.
Italian diagnostics group DiaSorin SpA jumped 9.6%
after it said it will acquire U.S. based Luminex Corp
for $1.8 billion.
Economically sensitive automakers were the
top-performer among the European stock sectors.
(Reporting by Medha Singh and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Hugh Lawson)
