Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News

16th May 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks traded mixed and only partially sustained the positive momentum from Wall St where stocks were led higher amid a short squeeze in US regional banks albeit with the upside capped by a disappointing NY Fed Manufacturing survey and debt ceiling concerns, while markets digested weaker-than-expected Chinese activity data. ASX 200 (-0.4%) was lower as weakness in the tech and consumer sectors overshadowed the resilience in the commodity-related industries and with risk appetite also dampened by a deterioration in Westpac Consumer Confidence. Nikkei 225 (+0.8%) strengthened as earnings results continued to take centre stage in Tokyo including Japan’s megabanks and after the TOPIX (+0.5%) climbed to a fresh 33-year high. Hang Seng (+0.5%) and Shanghai Comp. (Flat) were varied with Hong Kong underpinned by strength in tech stocks after Alibaba announced to merge its DAMO Academy autonomous driving lab with its Cainiao logistics network and will make “huge” investments in its Taobao shopping app, while it was also reported that ‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry boosted his bullish bets on e-commerce giants JD.com and Alibaba. Conversely, the mainland is subdued after disappointing activity data from China in which Industrial Production, Retail Sales and Fixed Assets Urban Investment all missed analysts’ forecasts.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

Bourses: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.03% at 4,316, FTSE 100 +0.30% at 7,777, DAX 40 +0.02% at 15,917, CAC 40 +0.05% at 7,418, FTSE MIB -0.37% at 27,245, IBEX 35 -0.35% at 9,201, SMI +0.13% at 11,580.

Sectors: Telecoms 0.56%, Financials 0.51%, Consumer Disc 0.49%, Materials 0.39%, Energy 0.29%, Consumer Stpl 0.18%, Industrials 0.17%, Utilities 0.04%, Healthcare -0.04%, IT -0.23%

FTSE 100

Diageo (DGE LN) - Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) 13-F new buys Diageo. (Newswires)

Fresnillo (FRES LN) - Co. says operations at Herradura mine have been stopped by a small number of Penmont personnel, no alteration to FY guidance. (Newswires)

Retail Names - UK retailers have been increasing the price of own-label grocery ranges faster than branded goods, according to Circana analysis. (FT)

Vodafone (VOD LN) - Co. has hired Akira Partners to assist in finding a buyer for a minority stake in its Internet of Things division, via Sky News citing sources; reportedly interested in selling up to 49% which could be valued at around GBP 1bln. (Sky News)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

AB Foods (ABF LN) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

Diploma (DPLM LN) maintained with Underweight at JPMorgan

Tui (TUI LN) upgraded to Equalweight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Siemens Healthineers (SHL GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Delta (DAL) is reportedly in discussions with Airbus for a large wide-body craft order, via Bloomberg citing sources. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Edenred (EDEN FP) - Acquires eReward Gateway for GBP 1.15bln, sees the deal as being EPS accretive from 2024 onwards. (Newswires)

Eurazeo (RF FP) - Q1 (EUR): AUM 34.8bln, +10% YY, management fees 105mln, +28% YY. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Klepierre (LI FP) maintained with Underweight at JPMorgan

PAN EUROPE

Energy Names - US reportedly plans to buy 3mln barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), according to Bloomberg. (Newswires)

InPost (INPST NA) - Q1 (PLN): adj. EBITDA 557mln (exp. 606mln), Revenue 1.99bln (exp. 2.09bln), parcel volumes 198mln, +21% YY. FY guidance maintained. (Newswires)

KBC (KBC BB) - Q1 (EUR): Net Income 882mln (exp. 743mln), NII 1.3bln (exp. 1.37bln), PBT 1.06bln (exp. 0.92bln). (Newswires)

Telecom Italia (TIT IM) - State lender CDP is reportedly planning to drop its offer for the landline network, ending the KKR bidding war, via Bloomberg citing sources. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

bpost (BPOST BB) downgraded to Equalweight from Overweight at Barclays

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Sonova (SOON SW) - FY (CHF): Sales 3.74bln (exp. 3.79bln), adj. EBITA 840mln, +6%. Board to propose a dividend of 4.60/shr (exp. 4.38/shr). Performance in H1 will be impacted by a higher YY comparison base, alongside effects of a previously mentioned non-renewal. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

FLSmidth (FLS DC) maintained with Overweight at JPMorgan

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.3% at 4136, NDX +0.55% at 13,414, DJIA +0.14% at 33,349, RUT +1.19% at 1,762.

SECTORS: Materials +0.85%, Financials +0.82%, Technology +0.74%, Industrials +0.51%, Energy +0.2%, Consumer Discretionary +0.14%, Communication Services -0.03%, Health Care -0.16%, Real Estate -0.24%, Consumer Staples -0.27%, Utilities -1.24%.

16 May 2023 - 06:45- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk