Dec 29 - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com SANTA RALLY RUNNING OUT OF GAS (0715 GMT) European stock markets look set to open slightly in the red this morning after weak sessions in Asia and on Wall Street. Futures for Europe"s main benchmarks are down about 0.1% after the STOXX 600 pulled off a five-week high yesterday and France"s CAC 40 reached a new record. These milestones came in the context of record COVID-19 infections across the continent which haven"t so far changed the upbeat mood for equity markets. So far this month, the pan-European STOXX 600 is up 5.7% and over 16% in 2021. (Julien Ponthus)