Aug 6 (Reuters) - Lyft LYFT.O 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 9888.HK to introduce the search engine giant's robotaxis in the region.

Lyft on Wednesday also announced a partnership, set to launch later this year, with United Airlines UAL.O that will allow the carrier's customers to earn rewards on all Lyft rides.

With partnerships including DoorDash DASH.O and Chase already in place, Lyft's entry into Europe positions the company to extend such collaborations into international markets.

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.N, 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 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)

((Akash.Sriram@thomsonreuters.com; On X as @HoodieOnVeshti; +91-99017-77617;))