Last checked at 
* European bourses fall from record highs
* Apple's profit warning dents mood, hits suppliers
* Italian banks rally after Intesa launches takeover for UBI
* Defensives outperform: utilties up nearly 16% YTD
*
Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters
stocks reporters. You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan
(thyagaraju.adinarayan@tr.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@tr.com), Julien Ponthus
(julien.ponthus@tr.com) in London and Danilo Masoni (danilo.masoni@tr.com) in Milan.
EUROPE FALLS FROM RECORD, APPLE SUPPLIERS HIT, ITALY BANKS ON FIRE (1648 GMT)
Warnings from tech giant Apple and banking heavyweight HSBC over
coronavirus damage caused a risk-off day that drove European shares down from record levels.
Apple suppliers in Europe were understandably among the biggest fallers on the pan-regional
STOXX 600 but a surprise move by Intesa Sanpaolo to take over domestic rival
UBI put Italian banks on fire, as investors speculated which bank may join
possible consolidation next.
Defensive plays outperformed with utilities contiuning to be in strong demand as the sector
benefits from falling yields and prospects of a transtion to a greener economy. Utilties
are up nearly 16% so far in 2020, by far the best sectoral perfomers in Europe.
Here's your closing snapshot:
(Danilo Masoni)
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CORONAVIRUS' NATURAL-DISASTER EFFECT ON GROWTH (1234 GMT)
The coronavirus impact on the global economy could be similar to what you would see after a
natural disaster: a strong contraction followed by a spike in global growth.
"Once the virus is contained, delayed consumption/investment effects coupled with stimulus,
should lead growth to snap back sharply," say UBS analysts.
The Swiss bank expects China to grow more than 10% and the world growth to rebound to 4.7%
in Q2 and Q3.
"The prospect of a global and China growth bounce in Q2 could provide a better setup for
value, cyclicals and China/Asia equities in mid-March," UBS says.
Meantime, UBS analysts have cut their global growth expectation in the first quarter to 0.5%
from 3.5% previously forecast.
(Joice Alves)
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WHAT ABOUT EUROPEAN BANK MERGERS? (1159 GMT)
Intesa Sanpaolo's unsolicited bid for domestic rival UBI Banca may not
have an immediate read-across outside Italy but the move could nevertheless fuel talks about
possible M&A elsewhere in Europe, giving further support to the battered sector's recent rally.
"We are not calling for imminent cross border M&A but... in-market M&A sooner than expected
would be a logical stepping stone and supportive for the sector in general," Andrea Filtri,
co-head of research at Mediobanca Securities in London, tells clients in an email.
And here's a handy recap of the most-speculated M&A names in the European banking space,
Filtri's courtesy.
* Commerzbank: "CBK has generally been seen as one of the most obvious candidates
for
consolidation among EU banks"
* Deutsche Bank: "Speculation will naturally return to a potential tie-up up with
CBK"
* Societe Generale: "SocGen is likely to be a prominent candidate for M&A in due
course"
* BBVA: "In the past we highlighted several times BBVA as the best bidder of BKIA"
* ING: "We think ING has a fiduciary duty to look at M&A in its core markets,
Germany
being one of them"
(Danilo Masoni)
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ITALIAN BANKING M&A IS GETTING REAL! (0917 GMT)
It looks Italian banking M&A is finally happening after the country's top lender Intesa
Sanpaolo launched a surprise 4.9 billion euro bid for rival UBI Banca.
The Italian banking system is highly fragmented and investors have long been awaiting for a
fresh wave of consolidation to help the industry cut costs as ultra low interest rates continue
to put pressure on margins and balance sheet clean-ups continue.
The bold move has pushed UBI shooting up 23%, while Intesa Sanpaolo is gaining too, up 1.7%,
while traders ponder whether other banks could join the M&A action.
"The strategic rationale of the deal lies in the consolidation of the domestic market -
where ISP is expected to increase its market share to 20%," Equita's Giovanni Razzoli writes.
Elsewhere, Banco BPM is up 9% and Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which is
seen as a potential takeover target, is up 3%, while BPER Banca, which is going to buy
400-500 branches of the combined Intesa/UBI entity, fell 7%.
The Italian banking index has reached its highest in 18 months, up over 2%.
(Danilo Masoni)
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OPENING SNAPSHOT: ITALIAN BANKS AND APPLE'S SUPPLIERS (0832 GMT)
Overall, most European bourses are trading in negative territory but Italy's FTSE MIB
as UBI Banca shares surged 28% after Intesa Sanpaolo presented a 4.86
billion euro takeover bid for the smaller rival.
Another Italian bank Banco BPM jumped as much as 11%.
Shares in ASML, Stmicroelectronics, Dialog Semiconductor fell
between 3-5% after Apple's profit warning.
HSBC shares dipped 4.5% after the bank reported a 33% drop in annual profit and announced it
plans slash the size of its investment bank and cut jobs.
France's Alstom shares sunk as much as 3.5% after it agreed to buy Bombardier's
rail division for $8.2 billion, including debt.
Here is your opening snapshot:
(Joice Alves)
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ON OUR RADAR: HSBC, GLENCORE, ITALIAN BANKS AND ALSTOM (0755 GMT)
After hitting fresh highs yesterday, futures point to a lower opening for European bourses
this morning after tech behemoth Apple said it will miss its revenue guidance as the coronavirus
outbreak slowed production as well as demand in China.
Frankfurt-listed shares in Apple were down 5.7 in early trade.
Asian difficulties, including the virus in China and last year's protests in Hong Kong, have
hit also Holiday Inn-owner InterContinental Hotels Group, which reported a slight dip in
revenue per room in 2019.
The mining sector could be under pressure after London-listed Glencore reported its
first annual net loss in five years and said 2019 was hurt by trade war, weaker commodities
prices and some operational challenges.
In the banking space, investors will have a mix of headlines to digest. HSBC shares are seen
lower after the company reported a 33% drop in annual profit and announcing it plans to shed
$100 billion in assets, slashing the size of its investment bank and cutting 35,000 jobs over
three years.
While Italian banks continue to be under the spotlight after Intesa Sanpaolo
presented yesterday a 4.86 billion euro takeover bid for smaller rival UBI Banca.
Staying on the M&A front, Canada's Bombardier agreed to sell its rail division to
France's Alstom for an enterprise value of $8.2 billion.
Taking a look into smaller stocks, one trader sees British subprime lender Amigo
shares up as much as 10% after the company launched a formal sale process.
Back to earnings, shares at Galp Energia is seen down by one trader 3% after results.
(Joice Alves)
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EUROPEAN MARKETS SEEN LOWER AFTER APPLE WARNS ON REVENUE (0638 GMT)
After hitting record highs, European bourses are seen opening lower this morning mirroring
stock markets in Asia, which retreated when the world's most valuable tech company Apple said it
will miss its revenue guidance as the coronavirus outbreak slowed production as well as demand
in China.
Focus remains on earnings reports, with HSBC reporting a 33% drop in annual profit and
announcing it plans to shed $100 billion in assets, slashing the size of its investment bank and
cutting 35,000 jobs over three years.
In the morning we will get more clarity on the economic sentiment in the bloc's largest
economy with fresh Germany ZEW data being released.
But before that, London's FTSE is seen opening 40 points lower at 7,394, Frankfurt's DAX to
open 64 points lower at 13,720, and Paris' CAC to open 32 points lower at 6,054, according to
financial spreadbetters at IG.
(Joice Alves)
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(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)
