Here’s What to Watch in European Stocks This Morning

(Bloomberg) -- Good morning. Here’s what we’re watching ahead of the market open in Europe, including…

Last-Ditch May

The meaningful vote on U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal is coming on Tuesday and the last-ditch attempts to save it from a likely defeat are in full force. May made an appeal to euro-skeptics in her own party who plan to kill her deal that the risk of Brexit being reversed is higher than the chance the country will leave with no deal. Expect much more talk like this along with chatter around a second referendum, no deal and possible elections before the vote takes place.

Greek Drama

A major test of the stability Greece has shown in the past year or two is on the way. The breakdown of the ruling coalition prompted Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to call a confidence vote in  parliament, raising the risk the country will hold early elections. Analysts said it could be good for investors, with polling suggesting a new vote would hasten the shift of power to the center-right opposition New Democracy party. Until then, watch Greek assets.

European Sentiment

Euro-area industrial production numbers are on the slate and after pretty dire reports out of Germany, France, Spain and Italy there is scant optimism. Hopes that the current run of weak data would stabilize have been rocked and the worries are now getting more recession-centered. Also watch the inflation data out of Sweden after the dovish minutes from its central bank, which pledged a cautious monetary policy path out of negative rates.

Who’s Hiring?

A less obvious economic indicator will come from PageGroup Plc, the U.K.-listed staffing agency that recruits workers on behalf of employers across Europe. Watch not only whether there has been growth in volumes, but also the split between the number of people Page is placing into permanent jobs and the number into temporary, which provides an insight into the confidence of companies adding headcount.

Telecoms and Flexible Space

Telecom Italia SpA made an offer to buy the scandal-plagued Italian business of the U.K.’s BT Group Plc, according to people familiar with the matter. That could allow BT a way out of a business where an accounting scandal has caused it a giant headache in the last few years. Meanwhile, IWG Plc, itself a takeover target for much of last year, is said to have  hired an adviser to look at the sale of its Spaces brand, the unit created to challenge U.S. share workspace giant WeWork Cos. Keep an eye out for updates on both those possible deals.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net

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