LIVE MARKETS-Opening snapshot: Banks and UK homebuilders fly high

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters
stocks reporters. You can share your thoughts Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and
Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London and Stefano Rebaudo
(stefano.rebaudo@thomsonreuters.com) in Milan.

OPENING SNAPSHOT: BANKS AND UK HOMEBUILDERS FLY HIGH (0755 GMT)

Thanks to a wave of optimism from China, the easing of lockdowns in the UK and reports of
fresh support to Britain's homebuilders and hospitality sector, European shares jumped high.
The pan-European index is up 1.7% with cyclicals stocks leading the gains with banks
up more than 4%, autos more than 3%.

Britain's blue chips surged 2.2% getting a boost from homebuilders Persimmon, Taylor
Wimpey and Barratt Developments up about 5% after Finance Minister Rishi Sunak
said the UK plans to raise a property tax threshold allowing people to start paying stamp duty
from 125,000 sterling to 500,000 sterling.

(Joice Alves)

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ON THE RADAR: JOB CUTS, SHELL AND GEBERIT (0645 GMT)
European shares are seeing mirroring the optimism in Asia where shares touched a four-month
highs. But the resurgence of coronavirus cases in the U.S. could cap gains.

On the corporate front, companies continue to report their pandemic struggles, with Swiss
plumbing supplies company Geberit's quarterly saying sales drop 15.9% as pandemic hammers
construction sector.

And more job cuts are on the way: Sonova will close some stores and cut jobs; Air
France and HOP! airlines plans to cut 7,580 jobs

Meantime, Britain is close to a 500 million pound ($624 million) supply deal with Sanofi and
GlaxoSmithKline for 60 million doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, the Sunday Times reported;
while shares in Idorsia were up 6.3% in premarket trade after company announced
positive results in second phase 3 study of Daridorexant.

Britain's Tesco demands supplier price cuts by July 10.

Shell is not ruling out moving its headquarters from the Netherlands to Britain as
the company looks at ways to simplify its dual structure.

In the M&A world, Nordic banking group Nordea agreed to acquire the occupational
and individual pension portfolios from Frende Livsforsikring.

In Germany, Volkswagen is investing about 1 billion euros to retool its factory
in Emden for electric cars, newspaper Handelsblatt reported. Commerzbank was fined 650,000 euros
for deals with defunct Cypriot bank.

People moves: Swedish telecoms operator Tele2 AB CEO Anders Nilsson will step
down and be replaced by former VEON CEO Kjell Morten Johnsen.

(Joice Alves)

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MORNING CALL: OPTIMISM FROM ASIA (0535 GMT)
European bourses are seeing opening higher, mirroring the optimism in Asia where shares
touched the highest level since February as investors counted on super-cheap liquidity and
fiscal stimulus to sustain the economic recovery.

Meantime, the resurgence of coronavirus cases in the U.S. could cap gains.

Investors will also be watching PMI data for the euro zone and the UK that will be released
this morning.

Financial spreadbetters at IG expect London's FTSE to open 82 points higher at 6,239,
Frankfurt's DAX to 260 points higher at 12,788 and Paris' CAC to open 94 points higher at 5,102.

(Joice Alves)

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