Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 10th January 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks were mostly subdued in the absence of a lead from Wall St owing to the National Day of Mourning and as participants braced for US jobs data. ASX 200 was dragged lower by weakness in financials and consumer stocks, while Australian Household Spending data disappointed. Nikkei 225 retreated with heavy losses seen in index heavyweight Fast Retailing, despite a jump in Q1 profit, as its China operations suffered a decline in revenue and a sharp contraction in profits, while the better-than-expected Household Spending from Japan did little to spur risk appetite. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the downbeat mood but with further downside stemmed after the announcement that the PBoC and China's FX regulator will hold a briefing on financial support for the economy on January 14th, while heavy losses were seen in property developer Sunac China after it received a liquidation petition in Hong Kong.

Hyundai Motor Group (005380 KS) - Partners with Nvidia (NVDA) to accelerate development of AI solutions for future mobility. (Newswires)

Life Corp (8194 JT) - 9-month (JPY): Net profit 12.81bln (-3.4% Y/Y); Operating profit 18.34bln (-7.6% Y/Y); Co. to conduct a 2-for-1 stock split for shareholders as of Feb 28th. (Newswires)

Nomura (8604 JT) 9-month (JPY) net profit fell 11% Y/Y to 2.24bln, sees FY24/25 net to increase 55.3% Y/Y to 6.0bln. (Newswires)

Sunac China (1918 HK) - Confirms it received a winding up petition issued by China Cinda (HK) Asset Management Co with the hearing scheduled for March 19th, while it is considering the implications and will make a further announcement in due course. (Newswires)

TSMC (2330 TT) - (TWD) December rev. 278.2bln, Q4 rev. 868.4bln (exp. 854.6bln), according to Reuters calculations. TSMC is expected to maintain full utilisation of its 5/4nm and 3nm fabrication capacity until the end of 2025, despite potential uncertainties regarding policy changes following the inauguration of US President-elect Trump, DigiTimes reports. (Newswires / DigiTimes)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: -0.06% at 20,317.10, FTSE 100: +0.83% at 8,319.69, CAC 40: +0.51% at 7,490.28, Euro Stoxx 50: +0.43% at 5,018.05, AEX: +0.77% at 895.83, IBEX 35: +0.86% at 11,899.30, FTSE MIB: +0.0.59% at 35,315.51, SMI: +0.47% at 11,932.52, PSI: 0.42% at 6,397.95.

SECTORS: Healthcare 1.04%, Materials 0.83%, Energy 0.59%, IT 0.41%, Consumer Disc 0.35%, Industrials 0.33%, Financials 0.32%, Telecoms 0.26%, Consumer Stpl 0.09%, Utilities -0.06%

FTSE 100

Shell (SHEL LN) / Chevron (CVX) - Chevron has started oil production from the Whale semi-submersible platform in the US Gulf of Mexico. With a peak production target of 100k BOEPD, Chevron aims to reach 300,000 net BOEPD in the region by 2026. The development is 60% owned and operated by Shell, with Chevron holding the remaining 40%. (Newswires)

UK Housing - UK debt market sell-off threatens mortgage pain for households as around 700k borrowers face a jump in repayments when fixed-rate deals end this year, according to FT. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Antofagasta (ANTO LN) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley

Intercontinental Hotels (IHG LN) upgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein

Persimmon (PSN LN) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS

Reckitt (RKT LN) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

DAX

Qiagen (QIA GY) – Secured US clearance for first Qiastat-DX mini gastrointestinal panel to support year-round outpatient care. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Nordex (NDX1 GY) – Received orders totalling 259 MW from Spain. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Hannover Re (HNR1 GY) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - CEO says it has made progress in the way to deals with supplier problems, which is now paying off. Engines, seats, galleys, interiors, and detail parts remain among the pressure points in the supply chain. Environment difficult due to geopolitics and supply chain and confident that Airbus remains on the planned production trajectory. Supply chain suffering from a loss of expertise including through early retirements and will take a long time to rebuild. There is demand for a stretched version of the A220- but continues to be a question of when, not if. Target of 75 single-aisle jets a month in 20-27 is still achievable. Separately, Co. reported 123 deliveries, 99 gross orders in December. 2024: 766 deliveries, 878 gross orders. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Ubisoft (UBI FP) - The French video game maker expects to exceed EUR 200mln in cost reductions by FY25-26 and is taking decisive steps to reshape group; expects Q3 FY24-25 net bookings around EUR 300mln and net bookings for FY now expected to come in at EUR 1.9bln. Ubisoft has also delayed the release of its 'Assassin's Creed Shadows' game, to March 20th, prioritising gameplay quality and incorporating player feedback. The games maker has appointed advisors to explore "strategic and capitalistic" options as part of efforts to enhance player experiences, improve operational efficiency, and maximise value creation; the process will be overseen by the independent board members. (Newswires)

URW (URW FP) – Sold 25% stake in CCM to Upvest and RSJ; transaction at an implied offer price of EUR 553mln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Scor (SCR FP) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

Sodexo (SW FP) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at SocGen

Vinci (DG FP) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

PAN EUROPE

Auto Stocks - US Commerce Secretary Raimondo said the Biden admin is to finalise Chinese vehicle software and hardware rules next week. (Newswires)

BBVA (BBVA SM)/Banco Sabadell (SAB SM) - BBVA decided to amend tender offer for Banco Sabadell by reducing minimum acceptance condition provided in prior announcement. (Newswires)

Eni (ENI IM) - UBS says that the Co. has already sold EUR 5.9bln worth of assets and is ahead of schedule in its asset selloff plan; the co. is exp. to announce an additional EUR 3bln in sales by end-2025, via Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena Banca (BMPS IM) – Del Vecchio family holding Delfin has upped its stake to 9.78% (prev. 3.5%), via Reuters citing a Consob filing. (Newswires)

Ferrari (RACE IM) / DXC Technology (DXC) - DXC Technology has extended its partnership with Ferrari to develop next-gen in-vehicle infotainment systems. The collaboration will accelerate the development of Ferrari’s software platform and its functionalities.

NN (NN/ NA) – Completed sale of NN Hayat ve Emeklilik. (Newswires)

Telecom Italia (TIT IM) – CEO Labriola told an investor meeting this week that he remains confident on achieving the previously announced financial targets. (Newswires)

UniCredit (UCG IM) - Co. issued dual tranche senior non-preferred bonds totalling EUR 2bln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Holcim (HOLN SW) – Proposes Kim Fausing as Chairman of BoDs; appoints Jenisch as CEO of planned North American company. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Skanska (SKAB SS) upgraded railway station in Slovakia for EUR 40mln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US - Closed on Thursday for a National Day of Mourning

Corporate Issuance - Some companies have delayed high-grade corporate bond sales in the US as yields surge to levels not seen since July 2024, BBG reports. Despite strong sales early in January, several firms postponed their deals, with some waiting until next week. (BBG)

Global Equities - Citigroup on global equity sectors: Upgrades Global Healthcare to Overweight. Cuts Global Consumer Discretionary to Underweight. Cuts Global Utilities to Underweight. Cuts Global Industrials to Underweight. (Newswires)

La Nina - La Nina has developed in the equatorial Pacific, contributing to drought risks in California, the southern US, and South America’s croplands. The US CPC confirmed ocean surface temperatures dropped by 0.5 degrees celsius, triggering this weather event. (Newswires)

10 Jan 2025 - 06:56- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk