* European bourses fear new China's coronavirus
* All European indexes in negative territory
* Market indifferent to positive macro data
*
Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters
stocks reporters and anchored today by Julien Ponthus. Reach him on Messenger to share your
thoughts on market moves: julien.ponthus.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
SUPERB MACRO INDICATORS, SUPERB INDIFFERENCE (1052 GMT)
The UK employment data came in much stronger than expected and so did German economic
sentiment.
Markets reaction was muted on the equity markets even though these indicators were seen as
key for today's session.
It seems the China virus outbreak and further trade war talks have definitely stolen the
spotlight.
Talking about Germany's ZEW survey, Stephen Innes, AxiCorp chief market strategist, wrote
prior to the open that its "print is enormous for the buy Europe argument".
Speculation about a BoE rate cut was high prior to the release of the UK data but it's not
clear yet what impact the remarkable resilience of the UK labour market will have on the BoE
rate decision.
Here's some reading:
German investor morale jumps on export hopes
UK jobs boom returns as Bank of England considers rate cut
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
OPENING SNAPSHOT: CHINA VIRUS KNOCKS OUT KERING, LVMH (0833 GMT)
The China virus outbreak has hit European luxury shares hard with Kering and LVMH down 3.4%
and 3.3% respectively.
With its heavyweights bruised, Paris' CAC 40 is logically the worst performer among
benchmark country indexes, losing 1.2%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 edges down
0.9%.
In London, Burberry is down 4% with investors wondering how luxury brands, which had been
able so far to weather the Hong Kong protests, will face that new headwind.
One notable exception in the sectoral bloodbath was German fashion house Hugo Boss which
reported better than expected fourth-quarter sales growth and saw its shares jump over 3%.
While most of Europe's fashion stocks were clearly among the top losers, the worst performer
of the STOXX 600 was UBS after the Swiss bank disappointed investors with its Q4 results.
Airlines were also in a tough spot because of the virus outbreak but Easyjet was up 3.5%
after the British low-cost airline said its first-half winter performance would improve from
last year.
BA owner IAG fell 2.3%, hotel operator Intercontinental was down 1.8% and its French peer
Accor fell 1.5%.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
TOURISM, LUXURY STOCKS BRACE FOR CHINA VIRUS; UBS DISAPPOINTS (0747 GMT)
Airlines, hotel operators and luxury groups are among the 'usual suspects' stocks which are
likely to feel the heat as the extent of the human and economic damage from the China virus
outbreak remains unknown.
It may therefore be a tricky day for EasyJet to put out its optimistic trading update, for
German fashion house Hugo Boss to announce better-than-expected Q4 sales growth or for Air
France to show an interest in bidding for a 49% stake in ailing Malaysia Airlines.
Grim news for investors waiting for a recovery in the European banking sector : UBS cut
profitability targets as Switzerland's largest bank grapples with ultra-low interest rates and
increased competition for wealthy clients.
Another update from the UK consumer with Britain's Dixons Carphone maintains guidance after
flat Christmas.
In the hot tech area, Logitech International reported a 5.9% rise in adjusted operating
income for the third quarter on Tuesday, boosted by higher demand for its gaming and video
conferencing products.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
FUTURES FALL AS CHINA VIRUS TRIGGERS 'RISK OFF' MODE (0708 GMT)
Futures for European indexes are falling more than expected as fears regarding the new
coronavirus in China continue to grow.
As you can see below, losses are expected from 0.5% in London to 0.7% in Madrid or Paris:
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
MORNING CALL: CHINA VIRUS FEARS SPREAD TO EUROPEAN BOURSES (0619 GMT)
European bourses are set to open lower this morning as fears regarding a deadly new
coronavirus in China spread from Asian markets to the old continent.
While losses in Europe are expected to be much lower than, for instance, Hong Kong's 2.5%
fall, the threat of a full-blown health crisis means many investors will likely switch to
'risk-off'.
London's FTSE is expected to open 32 points lower, Frankfurt's DAX down 31 points and Paris'
CAC to open off 22 points.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)