LIVE MARKETS-The (pricey) cost of the Suez Canal blockage

* European shares fall 0.4%

* Cineworld slumps on plans to raise debt ceiling

* Giant container ship stranded in Suez Canal

* U.S. stock futures edge up

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THE (PRICEY) COST OF THE SUEZ CANAL BLOCKAGE (1133 GMT)

A vessel almost as long as the Empire State Building is high
is blocking traffic in one of the world's busiest shipping
channels for oil and other products, pushing down shares of top
shipping companies.

AP Moller-Maersk stocks fell about 9.4%, while
Hapag Lloyd shares dipped 16.5% this week as efforts
to dislodge the 400 m (430 yard) long container vessel that has
blocked The Suez Canal continued for a third day.

The incident is proving to be pricey for the industry, with
Saxo Bank estimating that there’s almost $10 billion worth of
daily marine traffic halted by The Ever Given vessel, owned by
Japanese ship-owner Shoei Kisen.

Reports suggests it could even take weeks to free the
waterway from the vessel that is now blocking transit in both
directions through the busy shipping channel linking Asia and
Europe.

ING says ship-owners will be forced to decide whether to
wait out the clearing of the stuck vessel or to go around the
Cape of Good Hope.

"The Suez Canal is a vital point for global trade, including
energy markets," they say citing that around 10% of global
seaborne oil trade and around 8% of global LNG trade passes
through the canal.

Despite the supply difficulties, oil prices are falling as a
new round of coronavirus restrictions in Europe revived worries
about demand.

But "clearly, the longer this disruption lasts the more
likely we see refiners/buyers having to turn to the spot market
to ensure supply from elsewhere," ING says.

(Joice Alves)

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WHEN COVID RESTRICTIONS SUPPORT HIGH YIELDS (1106 GMT)

The third wave of the pandemic is messing up also corporate
credit, with investment grade suffering from more downgrades,
while high yield bonds continue their positive momentum.

The high yield (HY) segment, “which is heavily exposed to
the manufacturing cycle, is benefiting from the ongoing mini
boom in the sector,” BofA analysts say, recalling that German
PMI manufacturing hit a record high this month.

Besides, rating agencies may have rushed to excessively
downgrade HY-rated firms last year, so the year-to-date upgrades
could be driven by a "balancing act", restoring the fair credit
rating of some issuers, they add.

The HY segment which is now recording “its fastest start to
an upgrade cycle ever,” is likely to continue its positive
momentum in the next few months.

But investment grade (IG) debt owners, concerned by a new
wave of downgrades triggered by new lockdowns, should keep calm,
as the long-awaited European credit rating upgrade cycle “has
not fully started yet.”

A meaningful acceleration in the vaccine rollout and the
lifting of economic restrictions “will allow a broad and
sustained wave of upgrades across all European credit markets.”

(Stefano Rebaudo)

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WHAT'S HOT (0929 GMT)

As spring kicked in with much of the Continent confined at
home facing a third wave of COVID-19, the world is watching the
speed at which people are getting a vaccine.

And as about 500 million doses of the vaccine have been
given to people globally, Jefferies has revised its coverage to
identify the European stocks with potential to surprise in the
next fiscal year.

Bearing in mind that "the pace of vaccinations by region
remains the single biggest determinant of the recovery
trajectory," Jefferies analysts say.

Earnings positive vibes could come from the following five
names as the market has yet to price in a full earnings recovery
on these Buy rated companies: ABI, BBVA,
Jet2, SAP and Societe Generale.
While positive dividend surprises could be seen in Centamin
, Glencore and Travis Perkins.

Here is a list of Jefferies recommendations:

(Joice Alves)

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GOOD MORNING BROKEN CORRELATIONS! (0838 GMT)

European bourses have opened in the red in a session which
is already loaded with contradictions, broken correlations and
unusual patterns.

First and foremost, it's worth noting that while the STOXX
600 is down about 0.2% in early trading, Wall Street futures are
still trading in the black, 0.3% for the S&P and 0.5% for the
Nasdaq. It's worth noting that S&P 500 fell 0.5% ahead of close
yesterday.

Second, while PMIs are one of the key indicators watched by
equity strategists, it's fair to say that yesterday's good
surprise had little positive effect.

Looking at oil prices, it's another weird one with prices
edging down despite the Suez Canal being blocked and disrupting
part of the oil trade. Rising Covid cases might be weighing?

So quite counter intuitively, the oil and gas sector is the
worst performing one, losing 1.3% at the moment.

Also while growth and tech stocks had been tracking U.S.
Treasury yield, the correlation seems broken at the moment if
you look at the Nasdaq which yesterday fell along borrowing
costs.

There's no spillover it seems from the overnight fall of
Chinese tech shares due to concerns some may have to delist from
U.S. markets.

Today in Europe, the tech sector is down 0.2%, which is just
a tad lower than the broader market.

What seems to be the market focus today is how Europe deals
with the third wave of the pandemic and whether a vaccine war
with the UK can be averted.

(Julien Ponthus)

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COVID, MISSILES AND TANKER TAILBACKS (0816 GMT)

Plenty to chew over in what's shaping up to be a busy
session.

First to note is a sharp fall in dual-listed Chinese company
shares after the U.S. securities regulator adopted measures that
would kick foreign companies off American stock exchanges if
they do not comply with U.S. auditing standards.

Another reason for markets to stay in risk-off mode perhaps
was North Korea which launched two ballistic missiles into the
sea near Japan. All that weighed on stocks earlier in Asia and
now European stock futures are a tad softer.

But the session looks set to brighten up as U.S. equity
futures point to a higher open for Wall Street.

They might seek some reassurance from the host of central
bankers due to speak later in the day, including the ECB's
Christine Lagarde. The Swiss National Bank also meets and should
keep interest rates at -0.75%, where it's been for over six
years. Central banks meet in South Africa and Mexico too.

Vaccine rollouts and supplies could be high on the agenda at
an EU summit later on. The bloc on Wednesday tightened its
oversight of coronavirus vaccine exports, giving it greater
scope to block shipments to countries with higher inoculation
rates such as Britain.

While German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made a U-turn over
imposing a full 5-day lockdown over Easter, concerns about the
euro area economy continue to pressure the euro, which is
languishing near 4-month lows around $1.18.

Those worries also pulled crude prices more than 1% lower
despite the oil tanker tailbacks caused by the stranded
container ship in the Suez Canal.
Key developments that should provide more direction to markets
on Thursday:
- ECB President Christine Lagarde, Bundesbank President Jens
Weidmann, and Bank of England governor Andre Bailey, participate
in a virtual central bank event hosted by BIS.
- Sweden's Ingves, Bank of Canada’s Macklem, ECB’s Weidman,
ECB's Villeroy de Galhau, New York Fed's Williams also due to
speak.
- U.S. Treasury to auction 7-year bonds; 5-year bonds sold
Wednesday with a sold bid (Full Story)
- Italy to launch BTP short-term, a new government bond that
will replace CTZ notes
- Final iteration of US Q4 GDP

(Dhara Ranasinghe)

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ALONE IN THE RED (0641 GMT)

European futures are currently trading in the red at the
same pace as their Wall Street peers are cruising in the black:
that's about 0.2% give or take.

Tension is building up ahead of the virtual summit at which
EU' leaders will discuss new rules which would allow the bloc
vaccine shipments to countries which are not sharing doses they
produce.

The threat of a vaccine war adds up to concerns about
Europe's sluggish vaccination campaign and the new round of
lockdowns implemented to keep the third wave of COVID-19
infection under control.

Among other factors weighing on the market today is the
selloff in Chinese technology shares due to concerns they could
be de-listed from U.S. bourses.

(Julien Ponthus)

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