Glance-European Factors--Shares set to extend winning run

PARIS, Nov 9 (Reuters) - European stock index futures pointed to a higher start on Monday, with stocks poised to rise for the fourth straight session, after the Group of 20 pledged to keep stimulus measures until the economic recovery was assured. At 0730 GMT, futures for the DJ Eurostoxx 50, Germany's DAX and the French CAC 40 were up between 0.8 and 1 percent. Heavyweight energy and mining stocks were set to benefit from rising oil and metal prices on Monday, with gold reaching another record high while U.S. crude oil futures were up $1.30 at $78.75 a barrel. Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers pledged on Saturday to prepare strategies to end emergency support for their economies, but to keep the aid flowing until the global economy was back on track. "Equity markets in Europe are set to start the week on an upbeat footing after the G20 meetings concluded that global stimulus efforts would remain in place," IG Markets analyst Ben Potter wrote in a note. European shares rose on Friday as investors decided U.S. monthly payroll data was not as bad as feared, with banking stocks the major gainers. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares is up 54 percent since reaching a record low in early March, helped in part by better-than-expected corporate results. According to Thomson Reuters Proprietary Research, among the DJ STOXX 600 index's 188 companies that have reported their quarterly results in the current earnings season, 61 percent reported earnings above analyst expectation, 1 percent in line with analyst expectation and 38 percent reported earnings below analyst expectations. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0725 GMT---------------------- LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1,069.30 0.25 % 2.67 NIKKEI 9,808.99 0.2 % 19.64 MSCI ASIA EX-JP 464.40 1.17 % 5.38 EUR/USD 1.4951 0.44 % 0.0066 USD/JPY 90.10 0.14 % 0.1300 10-YR US TSY YLD 3.518 -- 0.02 10-YR BUND YLD 3.371 -- -0.01 SPOT GOLD $1,106.10 0.89 % $9.80 US CRUDE $78.74 1.69 % 1.31 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * Wall St rises 3 pct for week on Friday's slim gain * Asia stocks rise, bonds fall as risk sought * Nikkei edges up as China hopes give boost * TREASURIES-Dip in Asia in jittery trade before auction * Dollar under pressure, commodity currencies jump * Oil tops $78 as Hurricane Ida threatens output * Gold strikes record as U.S. dollar suffers * Copper prices up, brush off dismal U.S. job data COMPANY NEWS: AXA Europe's second-biggest insurer sought to double its bet on Asian growth and unveiled a planned $7 billion buy-out of its Asian assets and sale of its Australian assets to local rival AMP Ltd. In order to help fund the buyout of the Asian assets, AXA SA said it would seek to raise 2 billion euro ($3 billion) through a right issue. For details, see: ALLIANZ Allianz posted a forecast-beating 23 percent rise in operating profit in the third quarter, helped by its life-health insurance and financial services business. For details, see: CADBURY Kraft Foods Inc is expected to formalise on Monday a hostile takeover bid for Cadbury valued at roughly 10.2 billion pounds ($16.7 billion), sources familiar with the situation said on Sunday. For details, see: CREDIT AGRICOLE Credit Agricole will name Jean-Paul Chifflet as new chief executive of France's largest bank by branches next year, a source within the bank said on Friday, confirming a report on the website of Les Echos. AREVA Private equity fund CVC has pulled out of talks with General Electric about a possible joint bid for the power and transmission unit of France's Areva, a French financial news service reported on Sunday. Spokesmen for the firms involved could not immediately be reached. EIFFAGE Third quarter sales at French public works group Eiffage slipped 1.1 percent as construction of new offices in France remained weak. VIVENDI General Electric and Comcast Corp have agreed on a valuation of around $30 billion for a joint venture between NBC Universal and Comcast, ironing out what has been a key obstacle in talks so far, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The resolution of that issue brings the parties one step closer to an agreement, but French media conglomerate Vivendi, which owns 20 percent of NBC Universal, has not yet agreed to a deal, the source said. Separately, Telefonica's decision to sweeten its offer for Brazilian telecom rival GVT dealt a "major blow" to Vivendi's plans to acquire the carrier, sources close to the transaction told Reuters on Friday, suggesting the French media giant may walk away from the deal. REPSOL, SACYR, CRITERIA Repsol may cut the dividend to be paid against its 2009 results by 19 percent from a year ago amid an expected sharp drop in earnings, El Economista newspaper said on Saturday, without citing a source. For details, see: TANDBERG Cisco System Inc's $3 billion bid for Norway's video conferencing group Tandberg ASA expires at 1630 GMT on Monday. Investors holding about 30 percent of Tandberg's shares have demanded a higher price than the 153.50 Norwegian crowns ($27.05) per share that Cisco offered, which presumably means the U.S. company will not get the 90 percent shareholder approval that it would need to close the acquisition. For details, see: IMPREGILO Italy's biggest construction company cut its 2009 profitability target, citing difficulties at its engineering unit, when posting a 77 percent fall in its nine-month net profit. (Reporting by Blaise Robinson; editing by Joanne Frearson) Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE FACTORS ([e-mail] ; [phone], Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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