Europe Factors to Watch-Shares to gain on stimulus hopes

* Adds detail, company news; updates snapshot table

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - European shares were set to extend the previous
day's rally on Friday, driven by hopes of strong action by the European Central
Bank after President Mario Draghi pledged to take all necessary steps to protect
the euro zone from collapse.
Expectations have grown that the ECB could decide in its policy meeting next
week to start buying bonds again or support struggling euro zone countries via
the back door, while recent poor data could prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to
launch more stimulus measures to support the economy.
Global shares rallied, Spanish and Italian bond yields fell sharply and the
euro climbed after Draghi's comments on Thursday. Fellow ECB policymaker Ewald
Nowotny said on Wednesday that giving Europe's permanent rescue fund a banking
licence so that it could draw on central bank funds had its merits.
Draghi said that within its mandate, the ECB was ready to do whatever it
took to preserve the euro and that the moves would be enough. The central bank
has already cut interest rates to record lows and offered banks unlimited
liquidity.
Cameron Peacock, analyst at IG Markets, said Draghi's comments would raise
the bar for the U.S. central bank, which will also have a policy meeting next
week. Friday's U.S. growth data could determine the market's near-term
direction, he added.
The U.S. Commerce Deptartment will release at 1230 GMT its advance (first)
Q2 estimate for gross domestic product (GDP). Economists forecast a 1.5 percent
annualized pace of growth, compared with a 1.9 percent rate in the final (third)
Q1 estimate.
Futures for Euro STOXX 50, Germany's DAX and France's CAC
were up 0.4-0.5 percent. Financial spreadbetters earlier predicted
Britain's FTSE 100 to rises as much as 0.5 percent.
The FTSEurofirst 300 jumped 2.4 percent on Thursday after falling
more than 4 percent over the previous four trading days. But it is still on
track to end the week in negative territory after seven straight weeks of
advances. U.S. shares rose 1.4 to 1.7 percent on Thursday.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
climbed 1.8 percent on Friday, while Japan's Nikkei average was up 1.1
percent.
Investors will also keep a close eye on company earnings. According to
Thomson Reuters StarMine data, of the 35 percent European companies on the STOXX
Europe 600 index that have reported second-quarter results so far, 53
percent have beaten or met expectations, while 44 percent have missed analysts'
predictions.
Results on Friday were mixed. French food group Danone said a
tougher economic climate in Southern Europe and in recession-hit Spain and
higher raw material costs weighed on first-half profitability, while Renault
said Europe's auto-market slump hit first-half profit.
However, Total posted a 2 percent rise in second-quarter adjusted
net profit as new project start-ups and improved refining offset disruptions at
some of its other projects.

MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0641 GMT
LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1,360.02 1.65 % 22.13
NIKKEI 8,566.64 1.46 % 123.54
MSCI ASIA EX-JP 477.43 2.38 % 11.09
EUR/USD 1.2296 0.12 % 0.0015
USD/JPY 78.29 0.12 % 0.0900
10-YR US TSY YLD 1.461 -- 0.02
10-YR BUND YLD 1.356 -- 0.03
SPOT GOLD $1,618.61 0.2 % $3.22
US CRUDE $90.10 0.79 % 0.71

* ECB's Draghi warms risk appetite, shares rally
* Nikkei gains 1.4 pct as ECB comments spark short-covering
* Draghi-sparked rally helps S&P break losing streak
* Euro takes breather after Draghi sparks short-covering
* Gold steady, heads for best week since mid-June
* Copper edges up after Draghi; eyes US data
* US 10-yr notes dip, eye ECB after Draghi's pledge
* Brent trades over $105; supported by ECB comments

COMPANY NEWS

DANONE
French food group Danone warned that trading would remain tough in Southern
Europe in the second half of the year amid a deepening euro-zone debt crisis and
said it was betting on robust emerging markets to support its growth.

LAFARGE
The company reported improved second-quarter sales and operating profit on
Friday, but net income plunged as the French cement maker took a 200
million-euro hit to cut the value of its Greek assets.

MICHELIN
French tyre maker Michelin said first-half net profit rose 37
percent as price increases helped to offset the slump in Europe's auto market
and broader economy and confirmed that it expects a full-year rise in operating
income.

ASSA ABLOY
The Swedish lock maker, the world's biggest, reported earnings before
interest and tax of 1.89 billion Swedish crowns ($275.23 million), up from a
year-earlier 1.62 billion and mostly in line with the market's average forecast
of 1.85 billion.

NOKIA
Nokia is due to end talks with Finnish union leaders on Friday. Helsingin
Sanomat reported the ailing mobile phone maker will likely go ahead with its
previously-announced plan to lay off 3,700 workers in its home base as part of
10,000 cuts worldwide.

BMW
The world's largest premium carmaker dropped its demands for compensation in
the hundreds of millions of euros and is now willing to accept less than 100
million from PSA for exiting their hybrid components joint venture,
German stock letter Platow Brief reported late on Thursday.

RENAULT
The company said Europe's auto-market slump hit first-half profit and burned
operating cash, but stuck to its full-year goal of positive cash flow at the
core car-making division.

DEUTSCHE BANK
German markets regulator Bafin said it was too early to draw conclusions
about a global interest rate rigging scandal, adding that a probe of Deutsche
Bank was still ongoing.

E.ON
A 5 billion euro ($6.2 billion) project to build a coal-fired plant in Chile
could fall through following a negative decision by a court in Santiago de
Chile, daily Financial Times Deutschland reported.

LINDE
The industrial gases producer posted a 6.2 percent rise in first-half
adjusted earnings before interest, tax, amortisation and depreciation (EBITDA) -
its operating profit - in line with consensus.

ENDESA
Spanish utility Endesa, which is majority controlled by Italy's Enel
posted a 10.7 percent decline in net profit to 1.1 billion euros on
Friday.

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
The oil major said it is in talks to buy into liquefied natural gas producer
InterOil Corp's Papua New Guinea exploration licenses and LNG terminal.

GLENCORE
One of the world's largest commodities suppliers has won approval from
Australian regulators for its C$6.1 billion ($6 billion) takeover of grain
handler Viterra Inc.