Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 10th January 2024

10th January 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks mostly declined after the flimsy handover from Wall St and tentativeness ahead of key inflation data and earnings. ASX 200 was dragged lower by the mining, materials and resources sectors, while monthly CPI data was softer than expected but remained well above the 2%-3% inflation target. Nikkei 225 surged above 34,000 for the first time in over three decades, while soft wages added to the case for a delayed BoJ exit. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were subdued amid the lack of any major positive drivers and a tepid PBoC liquidity operation, while HSBC and Citigroup lowered their Hang Seng Index targets due to earnings and China policy doubts.

Sony (6758 JT) - Is continuing talks to merge its Indian unit with Zee Entertainment (Z IS) and talks will continue until January 20th, according to Nikkei. (Nikkei)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX -0.17% at 16,688.36, FTSE 100 -0.13% at 7,683.96, CAC 40 -0.32% at 7,426.62, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.39% at 4,467.95, IBEX 35 -1.46% at 10,060.30, FTSE MIB -0.53% at 30,408.78, SMI +0.18% at 11,250.80.

SECTORS: Healthcare 0.63%, Consumer Stpl 0.14%, Utilities 0.06%, IT -0.11%, Telecoms -0.21%, Industrials -0.22%, Consumer Disc -0.56%, Energy -0.59%, Materials -0.70%, Financials -0.73%

FTSE 100

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Capita (CPI LN) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

Compass Group (CPG LN) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

Babcock (BAB LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Numis

DCC (DCC LN) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

Intertek (ITRK LN) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

Wise (WISE LN) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Encavis (ECV GY) - Acquires six more wind farms with total generation capacity of 88 MW. (Newswires)

Nordex (NDX GY) - Received orders for 197MW from UKA in Germany, to supply 32 turbines. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Bayer (BAYN GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus

Sartorius (SRT GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC

CAC

Danone (BN FP) - Co. is reducing prices on the majority of the Aptamil range to UK retailers by 7%, according to BBC. Change will be effective from next week in some stores. (BBC)

L'Oreal (OR FP) - Acquires Gjosa, an environmental water tech start-up behind breakthrough Water Saver innovations, no terms disclosed. (Newswires)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - CEO says it expects in excess of EUR 10bln in sales contribution by launches by 2030 - JPM conference. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Elis (ELIS FP) - Acquires Moderna Holding in Netherlands, no terms disclosed. (Newswires)

Valneva (VLA FP) - Vaccinates first participant in pediatric trial of single-shot Chikungya vaccine. (Newswires)

Worldline (WLN FP) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Airliners/Flight Names - Boeing (BA) says CEO told staff "We're going to approach this number one acknowledging our mistake". Confirms it is making updates to 737 MAX 9 inspection plans based on FAA and airlines "feedback and requirements" (Newswires)

Davide Campari (CPR IM) - Launches EUR 650mln private placement, shares issued at EUR 9.33/shr. (Newswires)

Galp (GALP PL) - Co. has asked US regulators to allow it to join with BP (BP/ LN) and Shell (SHEL LN) in the filing of a formal complaint against Venture Global LNG, via Reuters citing a filing. (Newswires)

InPost (INPST NA) - Q4 Parcel Volumes 268mln, +21% Y/Y. Driven by strong performance in Poland and the UK. (Newswires)

STMicroelectronics (STM FP) - Announced new organisation with the Co. to be reorganised into two product groups and split into four reportable segments. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Arcadis (ARCAD NA) initiated with Overweight at Keybanc/Pacific Crest

AB InBev (ABI BB) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

BE Semiconductor (BESI NA) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank

SMI

Alcon (ALC SW) - Announces positive topline results from phase 3 COMET Trials of AR-15512, a novel topical drug candidate for dry eye. (Newswires)

Novartis (NOVN SW) - CEO says they cannot comment on specific M&A when asked about Cytokinetics (CYTK); says their strategy has been doing bolt on deals in the USD 3bln range, via CNBC. (CNBC)

Sika (SIKA SW) - FY23 (CHF): Revenue 11.3bln (exp. 11.41bln), +7.1% Y/Y (prev. 10.5bln Y/Y), record sales. Op. free cash flow is expected to exceed 10% of net sales for the year. Integration of MBCC on track, expected synergies of 180-200mln. FY23 guidance confirmed.  (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

ams OSRAM (AMS SW) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays

Adecco (ADEN SW) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

Siegfried (SFZN SW) initiated with Buy at Deutsche Bank

SGS (SGSN SW) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

VAT Group (VACN SW) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

Zurich Insurance (ZURN SW) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

SCANDINAVIA

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - CEO says for Wegovy the Co. "can add significant additional volumes in 2024" - JPM conference. (Newswires)

Sweco (SWECA SS) - Acquires Econsultancy, no terms disclosed. (Newswires)

Whilborgs (WIHL SS) - Signs an agreement for 2.2K sqm of office and conference property in Fosiel, no terms disclosed. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Equinor (EQNR NO) initiated with Market Perform at TD Cowen

Maersk (MAERSKB DC) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

Vestas Wind Systems (VWS DC) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.15% at 4,756, NDX +0.17% at 16,678, DJI -0.42% at 37,525, RUT -1.05% at 1,968.

SECTORS: Energy -1.63%, Materials -1.1%, Utilities -0.76%, Real Estate -0.73%, Financials -0.69%, Industrials -0.24%, Consumer Discretionary -0.14%, Health +0.04%, Communication Services +0.13%, Consumer Staples +0.24%, Technology +0.25%.

Boeing (BA) - Says CEO told staff "We're going to approach this number one acknowledging our mistake". Confirms it is making updates to 737 MAX 9 inspection plans based on FAA and airlines "feedback and requirements" (Newswires)

BlackRock (BLK) - Says 3% of current employees will be let go, but will have a larger workforce by the end of 2024. (Newswires)

Crypto - SEC Chair Gensler posts on X "SEC Gov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products". (Newswires)

10 Jan 2024 - 06:48- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk