LIVE MARKETS-Futures point to slower start as Fed looms
March 19 - Welcome to the home for real time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Helen Reid. Reach her on Messenger to share your thoughts on market moves: helen.reid.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net FUTURES POINT TO SLOWER START AS FED LOOMS (0712 GMT) Futures are down 0.2 to 0.4 percent across the main European benchmarks, confirming spreadbetters' calls of a more cautious start to the week. With earnings season drawing to a close, corporate news is thin on the ground but M&A news is still coming in: Hammerson has just announced it rejected an acquisition offer by Klépierre which valued the UK real estate company's shares at a 40.7 percent premium to their closing price on Friday. (Helen Reid) ***** MORNING CALL: CAUTION DOMINATES FIRST DAY OF BUSY WEEK Good morning and welcome to Live Markets. European stocks are called down this morning, following the lead of Asian markets which hit a speed-bump in the first trading day of a busy week. Britain prepares for a critical EU summit this week, and investors are also eyeing Jerome Powell's first press conference as Federal Reserve Chair and the central bank's decision on Wednesday. Asian shares were mixed as tension built ahead of this week's Fed meeting which will likely result in an interest rate hike. Spreadbetters call the DAX 17 points lower at 12,373, the CAC 40 down 17 points at 5,265, and the FTSE 100 16 points lower at 7,149. (Helen Reid) *****