(Adds futures, detail, company news)
LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - European shares were expected to open higher on Friday, headed for their best monthly performance in more than three years, with encouraging German retail sales data seen further improving market sentiment.
Figures showed German retail sales posted their biggest yearly increase in 2.5 years in December by climbing 4.0 percent. The sales increased for a fifth consecutive year in 2014, rising by 1.4 percent in real terms. ID:nB4N0U300I
Futures for Germany's DAX FDXc1 were up 0.5 percent at 0725 GMT, while futures for the Euro STOXX 50 STXEc1 and France's CAC FCEc1 were up 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.
The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares closed 0.1 percent lower at 1,473.19 points in the previous session. However, the index is up 7.6 percent this month, the best month in percentage terms since late 2011.
The European market is expected to track U.S. stocks, which enjoyed a late afternoon rally on Thursday and closed 0.98 to 1.31 percent higher as an upturn in oil prices and a rally in Apple and Boeing shares helped offset some disappointing earnings and lingering questions over U.S. monetary policy.
However, energy shares will be in focus again after oil prices dipped and analysts said the outlook remained weak, with production high and producers reducing operating costs to adjust to lower export revenues. ID:nL4N0V92AQ
MAJOR MACROECONOMIC DATA/EVENTS (GMT) ECON :
0700 DE Retail Sales
0745 FR Consumer Spending
0930 GB Mortgage Lending
1000 EZ Unemployment, Inflation
1330 US GDP Advance
1445 US Chicago PMI
1500 US Univ Mich Sentiment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0655 GMT
LAST
PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500
.SPX
2,021.25 0.95 % 19.09 NIKKEI
17674.39 0.39 % 68.17 MSCI ASIA EX-JP
.MIAPJ0000PUS 474.98
-0.24 % -1.15 EUR/USD
EUR/USD
1.133
0.1 %
0.0011 USD/JPY
USD/JPY
117.87
-0.33 % -0.3900 10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR
1.738
--
-0.02 10-YR BUND YLD
EU10YT=RR
0.354
--
-0.01 SPOT GOLD
XAU/USD
$1,260.20 0.29 % $3.70 US CRUDE
$44.52
-0.02 % -0.01
> ASIAN SHARES EDGE UP AFTER WALL STREET GAINS MKTS/GLOB
> WALL ST FINISHES HIGHER IN AFTERNOON RALLY AS OIL GAINS .N
> NIKKEI RISES AFTER WALL STREET GAINS; CORPORATE EARNINGS BUOY MOOD .T
> BOND PRICES BACK UP ON STRONG JOBLESS DATA US/N
> COMMODITY CURRENCIES FEEL HEAT; DOLLAR, YEN, EURO STABLE FRX/
> GOLD RISES AFTER SLIDE, EYES BEST MONTH IN NEARLY A YEAR GOL/
> LME COPPER SET FOR LONGEST WEEKLY LOSING STREAK SINCE 2008 MET/L
> OIL PRICES SLIP AS OUTPUT REMAINS HIGH, PRODUCERS SLASH COSTS O/R
COMPANY NEWS
MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA BMPS.MI
Troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena BMPS.MI is considering raising the size of a planned capital increase to around 3.5 billion euros ($4 billion), one billion euros more than initially planned, two sources close to the matter said on Thursday. ID:nL6N0V871Z
ALTRAN ALTT.PA
French IT services group Altran Technologies reports 2014 revenue of 1.76 billion euros, up 7.6 percent year on year. The group said it was confident that its performance in 2014 will be in line with the targets set out in the 2012-2015 strategic plan. ID:nFWN0V801T
CAIXABANK CABK.MC
Spain's third-biggest lender Caixabank on Friday said its 2014 net profit almost doubled compared to a year ago, though it missed forecasts after booking payments made to the country's deposit guarantee fund.
BT BT.L
BT has agreed a new plan to pay down its ballooning pension deficit and signed off on an upgrade of its fibre network, putting its finances in order ahead of a key football rights auction and a deal to buy mobile network EE. ID:nFWN0V803C
EURAZEO EURA.PA
The GoGo Squeez fruit puree maker Materne turned down European investment company Eurazeo' s offer to buy it at 800 million euros ($906 million) last year, Bloomberg reported citing sources familiar with the matter. ID:nL1N0V83QC
IAG ICAG.L
Qatar Airways said on Friday it had bought a 9.99 percent stake in International Airlines Group, the owner of its partners British Airways and Iberia in the oneworld alliance. ID:nASM0008UM
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL RDSa.L
Lead industry negotiator Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday it was "optimistic" a new three-year agreement could be reached with a union representing hourly workers at 63 U.S. refineries that account for two-thirds of U.S. refining capacity. ID:nL1N0V907D
ROCHE ROG.VX
A major analysis of one of the world's most fiercely disputed medicines, Roche's Tamiflu, has found it cuts flu symptoms by a day and can help some patients avoid hospital treatment and complications. ID:nL6N0V83G0
SAINT-GOBAIN SGOB.PA
Sika SIK.VX said on Friday that investors, who together hold over 40 percent of the share capital, have expressly stated their support for course adopted by board of directors and the group management. Sika's management and board is seeking to derail a sale of the Swiss chemicals company to French building materials company Saint-Gobain. ID:nFWN0V8031
NOVO NORDISK NOVOb.CO
The Danish drug maker, the most valuable listed company in the Nordic region, maintained its financial guidance for 2015, giving a more detailed number for its sales growth, after a stronger fourth quarter than expected. ID:nFWN0V8020
TELE2 TEL2b.ST
The Swedish telecom operator posted fourth-quarter core earnings slightly below expectations and said it expected largely flat sales and earnings in 2015 but promising higher dividends ahead.
BANCO BPI BBPI.LS
Portugal's second-largest listed bank, Banco BPI, posted on Thursday a surprise net loss in the last quarter of 2014 due to one-off charges, but its CEO said the results would not affect its capacity to vie for rival Novo Banco. ID:nL6N0V86OK
FONCIERE DES REGIONS FDR.PA
The French property group bought two portfolios in Berlin, Dresden and Leipzip for 221 million euros ($251 million). In total, these acquisitions offer an immediate yield of 5.2 percent. ID:nFWN0V801W
LAGARDERE LAGA.PA
France's Lagardère has joined the race to acquire a majority of Italy's airport retailer World Duty Free WDF.MI , which belongs to the Benetton family, sources familiar with the situation said. ID:nL6N0V86MV
EDF EDF.PA
French utility EDF expects the first of two nuclear reactors under construction in China, which have been subject to repeated delays, to be completed at the end of this year. ID:nL4N0V86A3
AIRBUS AIR.PA
Airbus Group will have to pay penalties to European governments for the latest delays and technical problems with its A400M military transporter, its chief executive said on Thursday. ID:nL6N0V86UR
DEUTSCHE BANK DBKGn.DE
German regulator BaFin is reviewing whether Germany's largest lender should have pre-released fourth quarter results, because profits deviated significantly from analyst estimates, Handelsblatt said, citing the regulator.
E.ON EONGn.DE
The company has filed a complaint with Germany's Constitutional Court, rejecting a 2014 law that banned transporting re-processed nuclear waste to a central storage site at Gorleben and stipulating it be stored at sites near nuclear reactors instead, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing company sources.