Europe Factors-Stocks seen up ahead of Spain debt sale, ECB

PARIS, Jan 12 (Reuters) - European stock futures pointed to a higher
open on Thursday, with stocks poised to reverse the previous session's losses
ahead of a key Spanish bond auction and the European Central Bank's interest
rate decision and comments on the economy.
At 0720 GMT, futures for Euro STOXX 50, for Germany's DAX
and for France's CAC were up 0.3-0.6 percent.
Gains could be limited, however, by renewed worries over Greece's debt
troubles. Talks about private sector creditors paying for part of a second Greek
bailout are going badly, senior European bankers told Reuters, raising the
prospect that euro zone governments will have to increase their contribution to
the aid package.
"Reports from Reuters that the Greek bond restructuring is going badly seem
to be adding to the confusion, as notably only a few hours ago we heard from the
Greek Finance Minister who said things were going 'very well'," IG Markets
institutional trader Chris Weston said.
"The cynic amongst you questions whether Merkel's suggestions of an
increased German contribution to the ESM could be an indication that things are
not as rosy behind the scenes."
Investors were bracing for the year's first real test of demand for debt
from the euro zone's bruised periphery, with Spain set to sell around 5 billion
euros ($6.3 billion) of bonds.
The European Central Bank was seen taking a breather this month after
cutting interest rates, pausing to assess the impact of a series of measures it
took in late 2011. In a Reuters poll, 56 of 66 economists expected rates to
remain at the current level, with the investor focus being on the news
conference with ECB President Mario Draghi, starting at 1330 GMT.
The euro zone's blue chip Euro STOXX 50 index will face
resistance at 2,390 points 2,402 points, representing highs hit in early January
and early December.
The index sank 17 percent in 2011, sharply underperforming Wall Street, as
fears the escalating euro zone debt crisis would lead to massive defaults and
write-downs and push the region into recession prompted investors to dump
European stocks.
MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0724 GMT
LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1,292.48 0.03 % 0.4
NIKKEI 8,385.59 -0.74 % -62.29
MSCI ASIA EX-JP 473.31 0.19 % 0.88
EUR/USD 1.2711 0.04 % 0.0005
USD/JPY 76.88 0.01 % 0.0100
10-YR US TSY YLD 1.914 -- 0.01
10-YR BUND YLD 1.826 -- 0.01
SPOT GOLD $1,646.79 0.37 % $6.00
US CRUDE $101.34 0.47 % 0.47

* Shares subdued as Spain auction puts investors on edge
* Wall St ends near 5-month high before Europe test
* Nikkei slips before Spanish auction, ECB
* U.S. 10-year notes dip, but euro zone woes support
* Euro claws higher but gains seen capped
* Gold steady as Spain auction, ECB meeting loom
* Copper steady, eyes euro zone funding stress
* Brent firms as tensions between Iran, West mount

COMPANY NEWS:

TESCO
Britain's biggest retailer reported its worst Christmas sales performance
for decades on Thursday and warned it would see minimal profit growth next year
as it invests in winning back shoppers.

VESTAS
The Danish wind turbine maker said on Thursday it would cut roughly 10
percent of its workforce in a bid to restore profitability after cost inflation
wiped out 2011 profits, but its CEO would keep his job. Vestas said it would cut
2,335 jobs and reorganise its in a bid to reach cost savings target of more than
150 million euros ($190.30 million) by year-end, and said it could cut an
additional 1,600 at U.S. plants if a tax credit for renewable energy is not
extended.

OIL FRIMS
Chevron Corp warned that fourth-quarter profit would be
significantly below the previous quarter, with production still falling short of
prior expectations and its refining operations about breaking even.

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND
Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to axe up to 4,000 investment banking jobs
and sell or shut part of the business on Thursday after being told to reduce
risk and focus more on domestic retail and corporate banking.

PSA
French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen posted a 1.5 percent drop in its 2011
car sales as its saw its market share shrink in crisis-hit Europe.

PETROPLUS
Swiss-listed oil refiner Petroplus has reached a temporary agreement with
its creditors that will allow it to keep some operations running and pay
critical bills, with what could be a more lasting deal expected later this
month.

ITALIAN STOCKS
Italy has extended the ban on the short selling of financial stocks by six
weeks, to Feb. 24, as the euro zone debt crisis continues to rattle markets at a
time when banks are faced with the need to raise fresh capital.

EDF, GDF SUEZ
French utilities EDF and GDF Suez are set to compete for a
large share of a 10 billion euro offshore wind development off the coast of
France, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

ACCOR, EDENRED
Colony Capital said the holding of its investment vehicle ColTime in both
companies has reduced to 11.22 percent and 11.29 percent respectively after
derivatives financing contracts matured on Jan. 5.

FRANCE TELECOM
The company's low-cost mobile brand Sosh on Wednesday was the first French
mobile phone operator to respond to the arrival of competitor Iliad's
aggressively priced mobile phone service by slashing its prices, according to
its website.

ROCHE
Roche late on Wednesday received clearance from the U.S. food and drug
administration for a new nano smartview blood glucose monitoring system.

VODAFONE, DEUTSCHE TELEKOM, SKY DEUTSCHLAND
Vodafone said it is looking into bidding for the rights to show Bundesliga
soccer matches on Internet-based TV and on mobile devices, possibly adding a new
dimension to its rivalry with Deutsche Telekom.