Europe Factors-Shares set to fall; EU summit eyed

PARIS, Jan 30 (Reuters) - European stock index futures pointed to a
lower open on Monday as investors continued to book profits after a six-week
rally, awaiting to see the details of Greece's debt swap deal and the outcome of
yet another European summit.
Investors' recent rise in appetite for stocks was also dented on Monday by
Philips Electronics's 45 percent drop in quarterly core profit, in line
with the group's own forecast, and its cautious comments on the prospects for
2012, especially in Europe.
The focus will also be on Italy on Monday, with the country's 10-year
borrowing costs expected to fall to around 6 percent at a auction, which would
be a sign that a recent rally in short-term debt fuelled by cheap European
Central Bank funds is also starting to benefit longer-dated issues.

At 0729 GMT, futures for Euro STOXX 50, for Germany's DAX
and for France's CAC were down 0.7-0.9 percent.
On Saturday, Greece and its private creditors said they were negotiating the
final details of a debt swap and expected to have a deal ready this week, a
crucial step for debt-stricken Greece to seal a new bailout and avoid a chaotic
default.
However, investors remained wary about Greece after a European source told
Reuters Germany was pushing for Athens to relinquish control over its budget
policy to European institutions as part of discussions over the second rescue
package.
"New bailout talks look set to continue with speculation that any agreement
will insist on new austerity measures to bridge a new funding gap, while
Friday's German additional EU oversight demands have not gone down well in
Athens, prompting widespread anger," said Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC
Markets, in London.
The euro zone's blue chip Euro STOXX 50 index has surged nearly
12 percent over the past six weeks, boosted by rising hopes the worst of the
euro zone crisis could be behind.
At a summit on Monday, EU leaders will sign off on a permanent rescue fund
for the euro zone, and are expected to agree on a balanced budget rule in
national legislation.
The summit, which will be the 17th in two years, will focus on creating jobs
and growth, with leaders looking to shift the narrative away from politically
unpopular budget austerity.
After the closing bell on Friday, Fitch downgraded the sovereign credit
ratings of Spain, Italy, Belgium, Cyprus, and Slovenia, saying the countries are
vulnerable in the near term to monetary and financial shocks.
Fitch's decision came two weeks after Standard & Poor's downgraded nine euro
zone countries, stripping France and Austria of their coveted triple-A status
but not Germany, and pushing struggling Portugal into junk territory, whose bond
yields have risen to euro-era highs on Friday.
The Euro STOXX 50 index, which has been testing its 200-day moving average
on the upside late last week, will face strong support at 2,400 points, which
represents the index's upward trend line started in late November.
MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0731 GMT
LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1,316.33 -0.16 % -2.1
NIKKEI 8,793.05 -0.54 % -48.17
MSCI ASIA EX-JP 501.30 -1.02 % -5.17
EUR/USD 1.3146 -0.59 % -0.0078
USD/JPY 76.66 -0.01 % -0.0100
10-YR US TSY YLD 1.863 -- -0.03
10-YR BUND YLD 1.832 -- -0.03
SPOT GOLD $1,727.59 -0.55 % -$9.61
US CRUDE $98.92 -0.64 % -0.64

* Shares, euro guarded over likely Greek debt deal
* Wall St cuts losses on late buying, more gains seen
* Nikkei falls for 3rd day, Mitsubishi Electric slumps
* TREASURIES-Yields creep down as investors watch Europe
* Euro off recent peaks on profit-taking; Greece talks eyed
* Gold off 7-week high; Greek debt talks eyed
* Copper falls ahead of EU summit, Greek debt agreement
* Brent drops towards $111/bbl; EU, Iran eyed

COMPANY NEWS:

PHILIPS
The company reported fourth-quarter core profit of 503 million euros, down
from 913 million euro a year ago, and said it is cautious about 2012 given
uncertainty in the global economy, particularly in Europe.

CARREFOUR
The retailer said it had chosen retail veteran Georges Plassat as its new
chairman and chief executive after months of turmoil at the company.

ABB
The Swiss group has agreed to take over U.S. manufacturer Thomas and Betts
Corp in a $3.9 billion cash transaction.

HOCHTIEF
The German construction group said on Sunday it expects its 2011 net loss to
be larger than anticipated due to bigger than expected write-downs at its
Australian unit Leighton Holdings.

ALLIANZ
Rating agency S&P has lowered the company's long-term outlook to negative,
citing risks of further pressure on its capitalization.

UNICREDIT
UniCredit closed its 7.5 billion euro ($9.7 billion) rights issue on Friday
with a 99.8 percent take-up, allowing Italy's largest bank by assets to meet
tougher capital requirements being imposed on the euro zone's lenders.

RYANAIR
The airline raised its profit forecast on Monday, saying higher ticket
prices were more than making up for expensive fuel and reduced capacity,
underlining the resilience of its low-cost sector as legacy carriers struggle.

DEUTSCHE BANK
The company is preparing to launch a fund to buy investors' damaged holdings
in hedge funds that have failed to recover since the financial crisis, the
Financial Times reported on Monday.

DEUTSCHE BOERSE
NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer sees only a 10
percent to 20 percent chance that his $9 billion merger with Deutsche Boerse
will be approved, but the low odds do not mean he is giving up hope yet.

CREDIT SUISSE
Bankers' bonuses are likely to be cut in half, a Credit Suisse board member
said on Sunday, adding in an interview with SonntagsZeitung newspaper that the
Swiss financial sector should brace for further job cuts.

VOLKSWAGEN PORSCHE DE
Volkswagen's supervisory board will discuss plans to acquire the remaining
50.1 percent of Porsche SE's sports car business at a meeting on Feb. 14, Der
Spiegel reported.