Aug 6 (Reuters) - Lyft ( LYFT ) forecast current-quarter

gross bookings above market expectations on Wednesday,

indicating steady demand for its ride-hailing services as it

expands in Europe.

The company recently completed its nearly $200 million

acquisition of European mobility platform FreeNow and has signed

a deal with China's Baidu ( BIDU ) to introduce the search

engine giant's robotaxis in the region.

Lyft ( LYFT ) on Wednesday also announced a partnership, set to

launch later this year, with United Airlines that will

allow the carrier's customers to earn rewards on all Lyft ( LYFT ) rides.

With partnerships including DoorDash ( DASH ) and Chase

already in place, Lyft's ( LYFT ) entry into Europe positions the company

to extend such collaborations into international markets.

Lyft ( LYFT ) said it expects gross bookings to be between $4.65

billion and $4.80 billion for the third quarter, well above

estimates of $4.59 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Larger rival Uber Technologies ( UBER ), which offers

ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery business globally,

issued an upbeat forecast for the third-quarter earlier in the

day, thanks to its efforts to boost engagement across its

unified platform.

The company also said it was in talks with private equity

firms and banks to finance the deployment of robotaxis and that

it had 20 partnerships for self-driving technology.

With growth stagnating in major U.S. metros, ride-hailing

companies are shifting their focus to medium and smaller

car-dependent cities to tap into new markets and drive revenue.

Lyft ( LYFT ) recorded an adjusted core earnings of $129.4 million in

the second quarter, above the average estimate of $124.5

million.

It forecast current-quarter core earnings of $125 million to

$145 million, largely in line with Wall Street estimates.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj

Kalluvila)