Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 12th May 2021

The Daily European Equity Opening News is uploaded at 0700BST/0200EDT recapping all of the overnight equity news.

From 0700BST/0200EDT all equity news will be covered in real-time over the audio and headline feed and the full audio rundown will be at 0715BST/0215EDT.

There will be an additional audio rundown at 0750BST/0250EDT recapping any company news which has hit the wires since 0715BST/0215EDT ahead of the European equity open

European equity coverage will only cover companies in the STOXX 600 or companies of systemic importance to particular sectors.

ASIA

Asian equity markets were subdued following the lacklustre performance in the US where the DJIA suffered its worst day in over two months and sentiment remained hampered by ongoing inflationary concerns ahead of the looming US CPI data, although losses in the Nasdaq were only marginal after the tech sector spent most the session nursing its recent underperformance. ASX 200 (-1.0%) traded negative with nearly all sectors on the backfoot aside from tech as it found some solace from the rebound in US counterparts, while a jump in CBA’s March quarter profits and the recent budget announcement including spending of AUD 589.3bln for next fiscal year did little to spur risk appetite. Nikkei 225 (-1.4%) failed to hold on to opening gains as focus centred on a deluge of earnings releases with Nissan among the biggest decliners with double-digit percentage losses after it reported another substantial FY net loss and guided it will remain in the red for its next FY results. Conversely, Sharp and SoftBank Corp were underpinned after posting improved results and Toyota clawed back initial losses and then some, following its earnings and a JPY 250bln share buyback announcement, while focus now turns to SoftBank Group which is reportedly set to post a record JPY 4.9tln fiscal year profit. Hang Seng (-0.2%) and Shanghai Comp. (Unch.) attempted to shrug off the losses in their regional peers with both indexes initially kept afloat following the recent PBoC Q1 Monetary Policy Implementation Report which stated the central bank will further guide real lending rates lower, while reports also noted that China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine was found to be highly effective in a real-world study with 100% effectiveness against preventing deaths and the UN also upgraded its Chinese GDP growth forecast for this year to 8.2% from 7.2%. TAIEX (-4.3%) was today's biggest mover with intraday losses of 8% and selling exacerbated by reports that stricter COVID measures could be announced in the coming days and after the index slipped into correction territory.

Toyota (7203 JT) - FY net JPY 2.25tln vs prev. JPY 2.04tln Y/Y, oper. profit JPY 2.20tln vs prev. JPY 2.40tln Y/Y, rev. JPY 27.2tln vs prev. JPY 29.9tln, announced JPY 250bln buyback for up to 1.46% of shares. Co. announced 5-1 stock split with record date of September 30th this year.(Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: EURO STOXX 50 -2.12% AT 3,938; FTSE 100 -2.45% AT 6,949; DAX -1.87% AT 15,113; CAC 40 -2.10% AT 6,252; IBEX 35 -1.64% AT 8,994; FTSE MIB -1.77% AT 24,365; SMI -1.16% AT 10,995

SECTORS: Healthcare -1.39%, Consumer Stpl -1.64%, Materials -1.86%, Telecoms -1.94%, Financials -1.99%, IT -2.14%, Utilities -2.16%, Industrials -2.34%, Consumer Disc -2.45%, Energy -2.92%

FTSE 100

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Allianz (ALV GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 41.4bln vs exp. EUR 41.395bln. Net income EUR 2.6bln vs exp. EUR 1.996bln. Basic EPS EUR 6.23 vs exp. EUR 4.60. Operating profit EUR 3.3bln vs exp. EUR 3.07bln. Co. confirms guidance. (Newswires)

Bayer (BAYN GY) - Q1 sales EUR 12.328bln vs exp. EUR 12.048bln. EBITDA EUR 4.118bln vs exp. EUR 4.071bln. Net income EUR 2.089bln, +40.3% Y/Y. FCF -3.226bln vs prev. -793mln Y/Y, mainly due to the settlement payment for litigations in the US. Co. continues to negotiate to reach an agreement on the remainder of the cases. Confirms 2021 outlook. (Newswires)

Daimler (DAI GY) - CEO believes they will likely phase out combustion engines prior to the 2039 internal target as demand increases for EV models. Believes the chip shortage will persist and present an additional layer of pressure as vehicles become more advanced, once the current shortage is resolved. (FT)

Delivery Hero (DHER GY) - Co. is to expand across Germany later this year. (Newswires)

Deutsche Telekom (DTE GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 26.390bln vs exp. EUR 27.105bln. EBITDAAL EUR 9.245bln vs exp. EUR 8.804bln. Adj. net EUR 1.201bln vs exp. EUR 1.070bln. Co. raises revenue, EBITAAL and adj. net guidance. (Newswires)

Merck (MRK GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 4.6bln vs exp. EUR 4.58bln. Adj. EBITDA EUR 1.5bln vs exp. EUR 1.3bln. Organic revenue +12.2% Y/Y. Co. affirms its FY21 EPS, revenue and EBITDA targets. (Newswires)

RWE (RWE GY) - Q1 adj. net EUR 340mln vs Co exp. EUR 303mln. Adj. EBTIDA EUR 883mln vs exp. EUR 824mln. Adj. EBIT EUR 548mln vs exp. EUR 472mln. Co. maintains guidance. (Newswires) Co. shares are seen opening higher by 1.1%

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Commerzbank (CBK GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 2.49bln vs exp. EUR 2.276bln. Net EUR 133mln vs exp. EUR 119mln, including restructuring charges of EUR 465mln. Net interest income EUR 1.25bln vs exp. EUR 1.25bln. Operating profit EUR 538mln vs exp. EUR 390mln. Co. raises FY outlook following a good start to the year with FY revenue seen slightly exceeding the prior year's level. (Newswires) Co. shares are seen opening higher by 2%

Lanxess (LSX GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 1.693bln vs exp. EUR 1.687bln. EBITDA EUR 242mln vs exp. EUR 234mln. Co. raises guidance for FY21. (Newswires)

Leoni (LEO GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 1.35bln vs prelim EUR 1.35bln. net EUR +28mln vs prev. EUR -67mln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

BECHTLE (BC8 GY) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM ADD AT BAADER HELVEA

CAC

Danone (BN FP) - Antoine de Saint-Afrique is reportedly to be named as the new CEO, according to sources. (Newswires) Previously been the CEO of Barry Callebaut (BARN SW)

Pernod Ricard (RI FP) - US Democratic Senators are asking the Biden administration to end tariffs on wine. (Newswires)

Societe Generale (GLE FP) - Resolution has been proposed at the AGM for a buyback of up to 5% of share capital. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Ubisoft (UBI FP) - FY20 revenue EUR 2.22bln vs prev. EUR 1.59bln, adj. operating EUR 473mln vs prev. EUR 34mln; net bookings EUR 2.24bln, +46.1% YY. Back-catalogue growth to be spurred by a significantly stronger 2020-21 release slate vs the prior. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

ABN AMRO (ABN NA) - Q1 net EUR -54mln vs exp. EUR +71mln. Net loss included AML settlement of EUR 480mln. Q1 impairment net release of EUR 77mln as credit quality remained stable. CET1 ratio 17.4% vs prev. 17.3% Y/Y. CIB non-core impairments are expected to be significantly below last year. Net interest income was impacted by continued pressure on deposit margins and lower corporate loan volumes as the CIB non-core portfolio was wound down further. Basel threshold of 15% for share buybacks is to be recalibrated. Co. stands ready to pay a FY19 dividend. (Newswires)

Iberdrola (IBE SM) - Commencing a share buyback programme looking to repurchase 15mln shares for up to EUR 195mln. (Newswires)

Poste Italiane (PST IM) - Q1 revenue EUR 2.9bln vs exp. EUR 2.873bln. EBIT EUR 620mln vs exp. EUR 564mln. Net EUR 447mln vs exp. EUR 412mln. (Newswires)

Salvatore Ferragamo (SFER IM) - Q1 revenue EUR 245mln vs exp. EUR 240mln, net EUR -1.2mln vs exp. EUR -8mln, EBITDA EUR 47.5mln vs exp. EUR 40mln. (Newswires)

Solvay (SOLB BB) - Gross dividend payment of EUR 3.75/shr for FY20 has been approved by the board. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Zurich Insurance (ZURN SW) - Q1 gross written premiums USD 11.03bln vs prev. USD 9.7bln, driven by strong growth in commercial insurance and further improvement in pricing. Q1 saw a relatively elevated level of natural catastrophe and weather-related claims. This is expected to add around 1ppt to the usual level of natural catastrophe losses in the FY combined ratio. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Maersk (MAERSKB DC) - Initiates the second phase of its share buyback programme; will buy up to DKK 10bln (USD 1.6bln) and a maximum of 1.79mln shares and will start from May 12th and end September 2021. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

LUNDEBECK (LUN DC) REITERATED WITH OVERWEIGHT AT JP MORGAN

US

CLOSES: S&P 500 -0.84% at 4,153; NASDAQ 100 -0.06% at 13,351; DOW JONES -1.36% at 34,269; RUSSELL 2000 -0.65% at 2,202; VIX +2.18 at 21.84

SECTORS: ENERGY -2.56%, FINANCIALS -1.67%, INDUSTRIALS -1.44%, UTILITIES -1.19%, REAL ESTATE -1.12%, HEALTH CARE -0.98%, CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY -0.92%, CONSUMER STAPLES -0.87%, COMMUNICATION SVS. -0.53%, TECHNOLOGY -0.24%, MATERIALS +0.35%

Electronic Arts Inc (EA) Q4 20 (USD): Adj. EPS 1.23 (exp. 1.06), Adj. Revenue 1.49bln (exp. 1.40bln); Live services and other revenue USD 1.10bln (exp. 1.0bln) full game revenue USD 250mln (exp. USD 251.6mln). +2.0% in after-market trade

12 May 2021 - 06:51- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk