Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 12th January 2024

12th January 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mixed with the major indices mostly rangebound alongside geopolitical concerns after the US and UK conducted joint strikes on Houthi targets, while participants also digested Chinese inflation and trade data. ASX 200 was subdued as strength in commodity-related sectors was offset by weakness in defensives. Nikkei 225 continued to rally and is up over 6% this week with gains helped by strong earnings from top-weighted Fast Retailing. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp struggled for direction despite the latest Chinese trade data which either improved or topped forecasts although 2023 USD-denominated exports contracted for the first time since 2016, while the Chinese inflation figures were mixed but ultimately deflationary on a Y/Y basis.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX -0.86% at 16,547.03, FTSE 100 -0.98% at 7,576.59, CAC 40 -0.52% at 7,387.62, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.62% at 4,441.25, IBEX 35 -0.62% at 10,004.90, FTSE MIB -0.66% at 30,249.16, SMI -0.91% at 11,152.80.

SECTORS: IT -0.25%, Industrials -0.29%, Energy -0.32%, Materials -0.46%, Telecoms -0.51%, Consumer Stpl -0.68%, Healthcare -0.95%, Consumer Disc -1.03%, Utilities -1.22%, Financials -1.39%

FTSE 100

HSBC (HSBA LN) - A Federal Magistrate Judge has ruled that while the First Citizen Bank lawsuit which accuses the Co. of illegally poaching employees from SVB post-collapse is “confusing”, the defects do not warrant the USD 1bln case being dismissed. First Citizens has demanded over USD 1bln in damages for its breach of contract and civil conspiracy claims. (Newswires/Bloomberg)

Sainsbury’s (SBRY LN) - Launching an EV charging unit, aims to have over 750 ultra-rapid charging bays in over 100 store car parks by end-2024. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Anglo American (AAL LN) initiated with Neutral at Goldman Sachs

Bunzl (BNZL LN) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley

British Land (BLND LN) initiated with Buy at SocGen

Diageo (DGE LN) assumed with Underperform at BNP Paribas

Derwent London (DLN LN) initiated with Hold at SocGen

Glencore (GLEN LN) initiated with Buy at Goldman Sachs

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) initiated with Buy at Goldman Sachs

Rentokil (RTO LN) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Land Securities (LAND LN) initiated with Hold at SocGen

Metal/Mining Names (GLEN LN, RIO LN, BHP AU, AAL LN) - Goldman Sachs initiates Glencore with a Buy rating, PT GBP 530.00; initiated Rio Tinto with a Buy rating, PT GBP 7,300 - GS says Glencore and Rio Tinto present the strongest balance sheets, coupled with strong cash flows with the most valuation upside in the Europe metals and mining group. Goldman Sachs initiated BHP Group (BHP AU) with a Neutral rating, PT GBP 2,500; GS sees BHP shares as fairly valued. Goldman Sachs initiated Anglo American (AAL LN) with a Neutral rating, PT GBP 1,900; GS sees longer-term value in the shares but continued near-term operational and commodity price challenges. (Newswires)

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Deutsche Post (DPW GY) - Teamsters say new contracts with DHL-CVG raise hourly wages by USD 2/hr immediately and a total of USD 5/hr over the next 3 years. (Newswires)

Hugo Boss (BOSS GY) - Co. and Safilo (SFL IM) announce an early renewal of their license agreement through 2030. (Newswires)

HelloFresh (HFG GY) - Co. has been fined by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office for sending 79mln emails and 1mln texts over a seven-month period. (BBC)

BROKER MOVES

Brenntag (BNR GY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Lanxess (LXS GY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley Shares seen -2% in pre-market trade.

Wacker Chemie (WCH GY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley Shares seen -1.4% in pre-market trade.

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - December aircraft deliveries 112 (prev. 64 M/M); YTD 735 (prev. 663 Y/Y, prev. guided 720).CEO said in 2026 Co. will have 10 Airbus final assembly lines for the A320 family up and running supporting ambitions to deliver 75 A320 jets per month. CEO Faury says they are closely monitoring everything that arises from the Alaska Air (ALK) investigation, will take every learning from this and expect Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) to do the same. Do not see GTF engine issues affecting 2024 deliveries. (Newswires)

Vinci (DG FP) - FY23 (EUR): FCF > 4.4bln (prev. 5.4bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Arkema (AKE FP) - Acquires a stake in Tiamat, no terms disclosed. (Newswires)

Casino (CO FP) - Notes strong support from Casino shareholders and creditors meeting, 16/17 classed approved the accelerated safeguard plans. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Air France (AF FP) maintained with Underweight at JP Morgan

Arkema (AKE FP) resumed with Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Bureau Veritas (BVI FP) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Eurofins Scientific (ERF FP) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Pernod Ricard (RI FP) assumed with Neutral at BNP Paribas

PAN EUROPE

Auto Names – The Indian auto industry is optimistic that growth momentum will continue into 2024. (Newswires)

CNH Industrial (CNHI IM) - Announces joint innovation program with HD Hyundai for the construction sector at CES. (Newswires)

Luxury / Autos - Chinese Trade Balance USD (Dec) 75.34B vs. Exp. 74.75B (Prev. 68.39B); Chinese Imports YY (Dec) 0.2% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. -0.6%); Chinese Exports YY 2.3% vs. Exp. 1.7% (Prev. 0.5%); Chinese Imports YY (CNY)(Dec) 1.6% (Prev. 0.6%); China's Customs says China's 2023 exports and imports of goods are better than expected, adds complexity and uncertainty of external environment are expected to rise in 2024 (Newswires)

Red Sea - US and UK conducted a joint strike against Houthi targets in Yemen which targeted Houthi radar, air defence sites, weapon storages and launch sites. US and allies released a joint statement that Yemen strikes were intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis use to threaten global trade, click here for more. 

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) – Stellantis Ventures is investing in Tiamat and affordably sodium-ion battery technology; proceeds to be used to construct a battery plant in France, proceeds from this to scale production of 2nd gen products for BEV. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

ASR Nederland (ASRNL NA) resumed with Overweight at JP Morgan

Aegon (AGN NA) resumed with Overweight at JP Morgan

ageas (AGS BB) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

IMCD (IMCD NA) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

NN (NN NA) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

SMI

Novartis (NOVN SW) - Has backed away in the past day or two from its pursuit of Cytokinetics (CYTK), according to WSJ sources. (WSJ)

UBS (UBSG SW) - To nominate Gail Kelly to the board, Wemmer will not stand for re-election. Will let some customers trade Bitcoin ETFs, according to CoinDesk. (CoinDesk)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SGS (SGSN SW) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley

SCANDINAVIA

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Awarded SEK 1.5bln contract to replace 21 escalators in the US. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Carlsberg (CARLB DC) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

Equinor (EQNR NO) downgraded to Hold from Buy at DNB Markets

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.07% at 4,780, NDX +0.17% at 16,820, DJI +0.04% at 37,711, RUT -0.75% at 1,955.

SECTORS: Utilities -2.34%, Real Estate -0.96%, Financials -0.41%, Materials -0.32%, Communication Services -0.26%, Industrials -0.2%, Health -0.11%, Consumer Discretionary -0.03%, Consumer Staples -0.02%, Energy +0.16%, Technology +0.44%.

Boeing (BA) - Three Senators say the 737 MAX 9 cabin blowout raises serious questions about Boeing's (BA) manufacturing quality control, oversight of contractors, and communications with the airlines. (Newswires)

Tesla (TSLA) - Says it is forced to suspend vehicle production in Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg from January 29th to February 11th with exception of a few sub-areas due to Red Sea conflict; production will resume in full on February 12th; New version of Model Y price in China reportedly cut by around 6% to CNY 245.9k and Model Y price is said to decline to CNY 258.9k. (Newswires)

12 Jan 2024 - 06:52- MetalsResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk