UPDATE 2-European shares retreat from record highs as Wall St dips, currencies surge

* Juventus soars after Super League announcement
* Dankse Bank slips after CEO resigns
* German DAX posts worst session in a month

(Updates to close)
By Sruthi Shankar and Susan Mathew
April 19 (Reuters) - European stocks retreated slightly from
record highs on Monday, as a weaker open on Wall Street and
rallying currencies offset optimism about a solid start to the
earnings season.
After marking its seventh straight week of gains on Friday,
the pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed little changed
but fell about 0.3% from all-time highs hit earlier on Monday.
The auto and parts sector .SXAP led losses, down 1.6%
after a 2% surge in the previous session, followed by the
technology sector .SX8P .
The STOXX 600 fell in afternoon trade as the euro EUR= and
the pound GBP= capitalized on the dollar's weakness, said
Connor Campbell, an analyst at Spreadex. Stronger domestic
currencies tend to hit internationally focussed stocks in the
continent. FRX/ GBP/
A weak opening on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones index
.DJI fell from new highs, also spurred some profit taking in
Europe, he said. .N
"The markets are at strong highs at the moment, and given
that it is also a quiet day data-wise, it is not a surprise to
see the markets drifting lower."
The German DAX .GDAXI slid from fresh highs to post its
worst day in a month. A worrying resurgence in COVID-19 cases
globally also weighed on sentiment.
Among results, Faurecia EPED.PA forecast robust
current-quarter sales growth on Monday, after surging sales in
China helped the French car parts maker beat market expectations
in the first three months of the year. First-quarter earnings for companies listed on the STOXX 600
are expected to jump more than 55% after a near 40% slide in the
year-earlier quarter, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
While just 2% of those companies have reported so far, 80%
topped profit expectations.
Italy's Juventus JUVE.MI surged 18% after top European
football clubs including Juventus FC and Manchester United
MANU.N announced a breakaway competition to rival the UEFA
Champions League. Danske Bank DANSKE.CO slipped 2.4% as Chief Executive
Officer Chris Vogelzang resigned after Dutch authorities named
him as a suspect in a probe into violations of money-laundering
regulations at lender ABN Amro ABNd.AS . ABN Amro rose 2.3% after it said it had reached a 480
million-euro ($574 million) settlement with prosecutors over
money laundering allegations. Italian vehicle and equipment maker CNH Industrial CNHI.MI
fell 3.7% after it ended talks over the sale of truckmaker Iveco
to Chinese firm FAW 000800.SZ . Meanwhile, rising European bond yields saw euro zone bank
stocks surge .SX7E , lifting the lender-heavy Spanish index
.IBEX to close at one-month highs. GVD/EUR