EUROPEAN EQUITIES UPDATE: A choppy performance for stocks. EZ inflation failed to move the dial

STOXX 600: U/C

• European bourses trade around the unchanged mark. From a macro perspective, focus has primarily fallen on Eurozone inflation metrics which saw an-line print for the headline at 2.3%, whilst the super-core was a touch softer at 2.7% vs. Exp. 2.8% and the service metric nudged lower to 3.9% from 4.0%. ECB pricing was little changed with odds of a 25bps move at the December meeting seen at around 84%.

Sectors: Mostly negative

• Sectors are mostly lower with underperformance in Autos & Parts in what has been a bruising week for the sector (-1.7% WTD). Losses elsewhere are relatively broad based. Bucking the trend are Basic Resource names following strength in underlying metals prices and with Anglo American (+3.4%) amid speculation in the FT that BHP could come back with a fresh bid for the Co. Anglo was also upgraded at Jefferies.

DAX U/C; FTSE 100 -0.1%; CAC U/C, FTSE MIB -0.3%, IBEX 35 -0.5%, SMI +0.1%

• Bourses are mostly lower with some marginal weakness in the periphery. Stock-specific updates have been on the light side aside from the Anglo American story mentioned above. Elsewhere, on the M&A front, the FT notes that Aviva (U/C) has contacted Direct Line (+1.1%) shareholders directly in a move to persuade the Direct Line board to come to the table. Delivery Hero (+1.1%) shares are a touch higher following news that the IPO price for Talabat Holding has came in at the top of the range. Elsewhere, German Chancellor Scholz urged Thyssenkrupp (U/C) to reconsider its planned job cuts in its steel division. Finally, the German government plans to invest around EUR 2bln in its semiconductor industry to strengthen Europe's chip supply chain, Bloomberg reports

US Equity Futures: ES +0.3%, NQ +0.5%, RTY +0.9%

• US equity futures have rebounded from early pressure to trade slightly higher heading into a shortened US trading session. Given the Thanksgiving Holiday yesterday and the likelihood that most traders Stateside will take it as a long weekend, today's US macro narrative is likely to remain unaltered. The next key inflection point is likely to come via NFP next Friday. In terms of US stock stories to be aware of, the Biden administration plans to tighten restrictions on semiconductor and AI memory chip sales to China, targeting Beijing’s tech ambitions, Bloomberg reports. The US FTC has launched a detailed antitrust investigation into Microsoft (-0.6% pre-market), focusing on its cloud computing, software licensing, cybersecurity, and AI businesses, Bloomberg reports. There are unverified reports suggesting that MicroStrategy (+4.5%) could be included in the Nasdaq 100 index following its reconstitution (to be announced on November 29th).

29 Nov 2024 - 10:25- EquitiesResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk