Glance-European Factors-Shares seen halting winning run

PARIS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Financial bookmakers expected the leading European indexes to fall on Tuesday, as a dip in oil and metal prices prompt investors to book profits after stocks hit a 13-month closing high in the previous session. By 0730 GMT, futures for the DJ Euro Stoxx, for Germany's DAX and for France's CAC were down between 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, while financial spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE 100 to open 22 to 27 points lower, or as much as 0.5 percent. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange eased $60 to $6,795 a tonne, after surging 5.1 percent to close at $6,855 on Monday, a level not seen since late September 2008, while oil also dipped, but clung to most of its previous session gains of 3 percent, hovering above $78 a barrel, as traders booked profit ahead of key U.S. indicators and a weekly fuel inventories report. "Despite the fundamentals remaining upbeat, a degree of consolidation is likely to mark the start of Tuesday's session in Europe as equity traders pause for breath," IG Markets analyst Ben Potter wrote in a note. "There is however little to suggest that this will turn into any full-blown bout of profit taking and even though we have high profile economic data due that includes UK inflation numbers this morning then U.S. PPI and industrial production readings this afternoon, the overall view seems to remain that with the economic recovery underway and government stimulus attempts ongoing, there are few reasons out there to be avoiding stocks." U.S. stocks rallied on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke repeated the Fed's pledge to keep interest rates exceptionally low for "an extended period," saying tight credit and a weak job market would weigh on the economy's recovery. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares surged 1.5 percent on Monday, gaining ground for a fourth consecutive session, led by resource-related shares rising along with commodity prices. The index, which has jumped 60 percent since reaching a record low in March, is up 24 percent so far in 2009, but is still down 37 percent from a multi-year peak touched in mid-2007. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0730 GMT---------------------- LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1,109.30 1.45 % 15.82 NIKKEI 9,729.93 -0.63 % -61.25 MSCI ASIA EX-JP 478.44 -0.18 % -0.88 EUR/USD 1.4962 -0.05 % -0.0007 USD/JPY 88.96 -0.15 % -0.1300 10-YR US TSY YLD 3.347 -- 0.00 10-YR BUND YLD 3.303 -- 0.00 SPOT GOLD $1,135.90 -0.28 % -$3.15 US CRUDE $78.76 -0.18 % -0.14 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Wall St leaps as Bernanke pledges lower rates Asian stocks hit 15-mth highs, dollar pressured Nikkei edges down as yen weighs, Canon gains Oil sheds some gains; eyes dollar, data Dollar off 15-month lows but ground still rocky Shanghai copper hits near 14-mth top, LME retreats Gold eases but near $1,140 as dollar seen weak COMPANY NEWS: CADBURY Italian chocolate maker Ferrero might be considering an offer with friendly investors for an alliance with Britain's Cadbury, currently facing a bid from Kraft, an Italian newspaper said. Business daily Il Sole 24 Ore said Ferrero could join a group of financial investors and private equity players considered friendly to Cadbury for a possible alliance. Ferrero could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment. BURBERRY Cost cuts and demand for accessories helped the firm limit a fall in first-half profits and the British luxury goods group said it expected an improvement in second-half profitability. For details, see: EASYJET The British low-cost airline reported a 64.5 percent fall in full-year profit, hit by rising fuel costs and lower interest income, but said it expected profits to be substantially higher in 2010. For details, see: UBS UBS head Oswald Gruebel is targeting an annual pre-tax profit of 15 billion Swiss francs ($14.87 billion) as he aims to put the subprime crisis and a U.S. tax row behind the bank and win back clients. The Swiss bank is holding an investor day from 0715 GMT with Gruebel outlining future strategy and additional speeches from the COO and the CFO of UBS as well as the co-CEOs of UBS Investment Bank and the head of Wealth Management for the Americas. For related news, click on PPR The French retail and luxury group announced the initial public offering of its CFAO unit at a range between 24.80 euros and euros 29.00 euros per share, with an initial size of 31,000,000 shares offered, representing between euros 768.8 and euros 899 million. For details, see: AXA Australian wealth manager AMP Ltd took aim at speculation it would raise its around $11 billion joint bid with the French insurer for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, saying on Tuesday that the price had to be economically responsible. Separately, the French insurer and Australia's AMP Ltd need to sweeten their bid for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings by about 10 percent to seal the proposed $11 billion deal, analysts and fund managers say. For details, see: FORTIS The Belgian insurance group Fortis reported third-quarter net profits in all divisions on Tuesday and said it expected 2009 inflows to at least match last year's levels. For details, see: NOVARTIS A U.S. clinical study suggests that just half a dose of the Novartis AG H1N1 vaccine may be enough to generate a protective immune response, the Swiss drugmaker said on Tuesday. For details, see: NESTLE U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Monday revealed new investments in Nestle and Exxon Mobil Corp and that it has nearly doubled its investment in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. For related news click on SWEDISH BANKS Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg warned against banks in the Nordic country reverting to the practice of paying large bonsuses, saying this could lead to further regulation of the practise. For more on Swedish banks, double click ACCOR The French hotel group said its board will decide by the end of the year on whether to split up its two main businesses--hotels and pre-paid services like hotel vouchers and bank cards. For details, see: ENTERPRISE INNS Britain's second-biggest pubs firm said it expected to see a further decline in profit in the short-term after reporting a 21 percent decline in full-year pretax profit on Tuesday. For details, see: IRISH LIFE & PERMANENT The bancassurer said impairment provisions in its banking arm would be higher this year than previously forecast as commercial property values continued to decline. For details, see: (Reporting by Blaise Robinson) Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE FACTORS ([e-mail] ; [phone], Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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