LIVE MARKETS-Before the bell: Europe heads south, wind stocks eyed

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BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPE HEADS SOUTH, WIND STOCKS EYED

European shares were set to open lower on Tuesday in jittery markets after Donald Trump took office the previous day with a flurry of policy announcements, even though he did not immediately impose tariffs as initially expected.

In his inauguration speech, Trump also laid out a sweeping plan to maximise oil and gas production and withdrawing the U.S. from an international pact to fight climate change.

European futures fell sharply overnight, but pared some losses and by 0737 GMT, EuroSTOXX50 and FTSE futures were trading down 0.14% and up 0.04%, respectively. S&P 500 contracts added 0.18%. Wall Street was shut on Monday.

With Trump measures taking centrestage, Denmark's Orsted ORSTED.CO was likely to be a focus in European corporate news. The U.S.-exposed offshore wind developer posted a nearly $1.7 billion impairment charge in Q4, citing a delay and higher costs for its Sunrise Wind project in the United States.

Germany's RWE RWEG.DE and Siemens Energy ENR1n.DE and turbine maker Vestas Wind VWS.CO are also involved in U.S. wind projects.

In banks, Austria's Raiffeisen could be in for a difficult trading session after a Russian court imposed more than 2 billion euros in damages against the biggest Western bank in Russia.

Elsewhere, Generali GASI.MI and France's BPCE signed a non-binding memorandum to combine their asset management operations aiming to create Europe's largest player by revenues.

In the UK, Premier Foods PFD.L forecast annual profit at the upper end of analyst expectations, following robust sales of its branded products during the key holiday season.

(Danilo Masoni)

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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:

TRUMP'S BACK, SO IS VOLATILITY