Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 15th January 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks were choppy after a similar performance stateside where PPI data printed cooler-than-expected ahead of the incoming US CPI report. ASX 200 failed to sustain early gains with upside in consumer stocks, real estate and financials offset by losses in tech and miners. Nikkei 225 faded its opening advances with price action indecisive amid a lack of notable drivers and ongoing uncertainty regarding BoJ policy. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were softer as trade frictions lingered with the US finalising rules to effectively ban Chinese vehicles and it also banned imports for over 30 entities over Uyghur forced labour, while China placed 7 US firms on the unreliable entity list for involvement in arms sales to Taiwan. Nonetheless, some of the downside was stemmed following the PBoC's firm liquidity effort in which it conducted a CNY 960bln 7-day reverse repo operation.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.64% at 20,261, FTSE 100: -0.28% at 8,202, CAC 40: +0.20% at 7,424, Euro Stoxx 50: +0.54% at 4,981, AEX: -0.03% at 885, IBEX 35: +0.55% at 11,752, FTSE MIB: +0.93% at 35,125, SMI: -0.20% at 11,699, PSI: +0.73% at 6,377.

SECTORS: IT 0.77%, Financials 0.72%, Telecoms 0.44%, Consumer Disc 0.31%, Industrials 0.24%, Materials -0.08%, Utilities -0.26%, Consumer Stpl -0.72%, Energy -0.97%, Healthcare -1.59%

FTSE 100

BP (BP/ LN) - FT article entitled "pressure mounts on BP Chief as investor patience wanes", within this one investor is cited as saying "the market is telling us something has gone badly wrong at BP and it's not at all obvious from the outside what that is and why". (FT)

BAE Systems (BA/ LN) – US Navy awarded the co. with USD 85mlm production contract. (Newswires)

Haleon (HLN LN) – Pfizer (PFE) to sell 700mln ordinary shares in Haleon; reduces stake to 7.3% (prev. 15%). (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Anglo American (AAL LN) downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC

Antofagasta (ANTO LN) downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC

Pearson (PSON LN) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein

Persimmon (PSN LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Peel Hunt

Unite (UTG LN) initiated with Buy at Goldman Sachs

DAX

Bayer (BAYN GY) - A Washington jury ordered Bayer to pay USD 100mln to four individuals claiming PCB exposure at a Seattle-area school caused health issues. Bayer plans to appeal, arguing PCB levels were safe and the school ignored safety warnings. Separately, the WSJ reports that Bayer exec said its pharmaceutical business is expected to return to growth by 2027; it company plans to launch new therapies, including treatments for a rare heart disease and menopause symptoms, later this year which are intended to offset declining sales of the blood thinner Xarelto, which has faced generic competition since losing exclusivity last year. (Newswires)

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Cautious mention in Bloomberg, which notes that Volkswagen's 2024 sales were weak, and 2025 looks challenging. BBG said the VW brand lacks new electric cars, with delays affecting key products. The issues are acute in China, while in the US, the absence of popular pickup trucks hinders sales. (Bloomberg)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Achieved record order intake of 8.3 GW in the FY24. Increased its order intake for 2024 by around 13 percent Y/Y. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Auto1 (AG1 GY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs

Continental (CON GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Kepler

CAC

French Stocks - Head of France's Socialist party says that if his party does not get clear response from PM to its demands on pension reform, then it will vote in favour of no-confidence vote versus government. (Newswires)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Executive "doesn't expect things to be incrementally negative in the change in the US administration, but it may be chaotic for a time". (JPM conference)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Bureau Veritas (BVI FP) – Co. is in talks to combine with SGS (SGSN SW). SGS confirmed it is in discussions, but no assurance it will result in an agreement. (Newswires)

GTT (GTT FP) - Receives an order from Hudong-Zhonghua for the tank design of six new very large LNG carriers, scheduled for Q2 28, Q2 and Q3 29 and Q3 2031. (Newswires)

Ubisoft (UBI FP) - Bloomberg reports that Tencent (7 HK) and Guillemot family are weighing a Ubisoft assets deal and weight creation of a new JV; the Ubisoft deal would help Tencent's plans to expand outside China. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

Air France (AF FP) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

Eurofins Scientific (ERF FP) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

Jcdecaux (DEC FP) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan

Orange (ORA FP) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Oddo

PAN EUROPE

Chip Stocks - US plans to unveil more regulations aimed at keeping advanced chips made by TSMC (2330 TT) and other producers including Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) from flowing to China, according to Bloomberg. (Newswires)

Cellnex (CLNX SM) – Co. to speed up shareholder remuneration with a EUR 800mln share buyback programme. (Newswires)

Commodities Stocks - EU is considering a gradual ban on Russian LNG and aluminium, according to Bloomberg. (Newswires)

Eni (ENI IM) - Announced two hybrid euro bonds successfully launched with a total nominal value of EUR 1.5bln. (Newswires)

GeoPark (GPRK), Repsol (REP SM) - GeoPark and Repsol mutually agreed to cancel their previously announced transaction after SierraCol Energy Arauca's partner exercised preemptive rights to acquire 25% of Repsol's stake. GeoPark remains focused on disciplined growth.

Weight Loss Drugs - A global study has called for a reclassification of the diagnosis of obesity, into pre-clinical and clinical types, to improve access to treatment for those who require it most. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Partners (PGHN SW) – 2024 (USD): AuM 152bln. In 2025: Expected total new client assets of 26-31bln; guidance includes 22-27bln in exp. Gross client demand for the co’s business activities. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Flughafen Zurich (FHZN SW) – 2.3mln passengers handled at Zurich Airport, +8.1% Y/Y. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.11% at 5,843, NDX -0.13% at 20,757, DJIA +0.52% at 42,518, RUT +1.13% at 2,219

SECTORS: Communication Services -0.97%, Health -0.94%, Consumer Discretionary -0.32%, Technology -0.1%, Consumer Staples flat, Real Estate +0.88%, Energy +0.94%, Industrials +1.16%, Materials +1.24%, Financials +1.28%, Utilities +1.3%.

15 Jan 2025 - 06:47- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk