Marstons Share News (MARS)

* European shares open higher
* STOXX 600 climbs back to April 2015 highs, last up 0.4%
* Trump says U.S. China trade deal near

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters
stocks reporters and anchored today by Joice Alves. Reach her on Messenger to share your
thoughts on market moves: rm://joice.alves.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net


IT'S NOT JUST CORBYN: WATER NATIONALISATION RISK IN ITALY? (1041 GMT)
Labour leader Corbyn has promised to nationalise rail, mail, water, and broadband but the
temptation to bring assets back into state hand is not confined to Britain.
Take Italy for example, where the ruling Five Star Movement has for long been canvassing to
bring water distribution back under state control. According to a report today in Il Sole 24
Ore, Five Star leader Di Maio is trying to get legislation on the matter approved in January.
But how real is that risk?
While water nationalisation would help unite Di Maio's fractious movement, it would likely
meet stiff resistance from its coalition Democratic Party partner, the paper said.
Also the cost of such move looks prohibitive: 15 billion euros.
"It seems difficult that the nationalization of the water sector (Daga law) can be approved
in this phase...", says Equita analyst Stefano Gamberini.
Anyhow, for future reference, here's the water exposure of Italian utilities, according to
Equita.
Acea (45% Ebitda)
Hera (25% Ebitda)
Iren (22% Ebitda)
A2A (5% Ebitda)
(Danilo Masoni and Stephen Jewkes)
*****


"WE SEE UPSIDE..." (0925 GMT)
Markets are buoyant this morning and it all boils down to Trump keeping the mood music on
trade positive.
And rather upbeat broker notes on what lies ahead next year are also playing a role in
keeping investors hopeful.
There's one this morning from Barclays strategists - fresh out of the press.
"We see upside for European equities in 2020," they say.
But then add: "investor nerves will continue to be tested amid lingering geopolitical
tail-risks and late-cycle fears."
"Still, we believe the improving growth policy trade-off, light positioning and relative
expensiveness of 'safe assets' will provide the preconditions for an extension of the equity
bull market into the delayed end of cycle."
So, what's their target for the STOXX 600 in 2020?
430 points - which would be a lifetime high for the pan-European index and is above the
median estimate of 420 (which also is a record) from a Reuters poll just published.
Have a look here: POLL-Trade and Brexit deals could push European stocks to record highs

(Danilo Masoni)
*****

OPENING SNAPSHOT: FLYING HIGH (0902 GMT)
European shares hit a four-year high at the opening after Trump said the U.S. and China are
close to a deal, which could end a prolonged trade war between the two countries.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index reached its highest since April 2015, led by
trade-sensitive miners, up 0.75%.
Among top movers, Virgin Money and Aroundtown are both up more than 3%
after better-than-expected results.
British soft drink company Britvic shares lead STOXX losers, down 3.1% after it
posted a 31% drop in its annual profit after tax, as the company grappled with a new law in
France and wrote down the value of some assets in the country.
Future shares are down almost 10% after share placement.
Here is a snapshot of European bourses:
(Joice Alves)
*****



EUROPEAN BOURSES SEEN HIGHER ON TRADE HOPES (0756 GMT)
Stock futures point to a slightly higher open for European bourses on hopes that China and
the U.S. are nearing a trade deal.
The pan European index STOXX 600 had three positive sessions since Friday on
reports that negotiations between Washington and Beijing are progressing with Trump saying that
the two countries are close to inking a deal.
On the corporate front, this week is calm after the storm with very few earnings updates
compared to the super busy past few weeks.
Despite a slowdown in the U.S. vaping market, British American Tobacco raised its
full-year revenue forecast today.
Not so well for pub operator Marston's, which cut its annual profit today, hurt by
lower food sales, rising costs and sluggish consumer spending.

Here are some other corporate headlines:
HSBC private banking sees double-digit asset, revenue growth on Asia boost
Epiroc appoints Helena Hedblom new CEO



GUESS WHAT? IT'S ALL ABOUT CHINA-US TRADE TALKS(0635 GMT)
European bourses are expected to extend gains as the U.S. and China trade talks seem to
progress after Donald Trump said yesterday that negotiators were close to inking an initial
deal.
Asian shares rose on hopes that the two countries will seal a deal ending months of trade
war.
The positive mood also pushed Wall Street indexes to fresh record closing highs yesterday,
and expectations the Federal Reserve will keep rates low underpinned sentiment.
Financial spreadbetters at IG expect London's FTSE to open 12 points higher at 7,415,
Frankfurt's DAX to open 30 points higher at 13,266 and Paris' CAC to open 14 points higher at
5,944.
(Joice Alves)
*****




(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)