Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News

ASIA

APAC stocks followed suit to the mixed performance stateside as the region digested further support measures from the PBoC and a slew of Chinese data including mixed Q3 GDP, better-than-expected activity data and a further decline in House Prices. ASX 200 pulled back from recent record highs with Utilities, Consumer Discretionary and Tech leading the downturn seen across nearly all sectors. Nikkei 225 was indecisive around the 39,000 level with the upside capped following firmer-than-expected inflation. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp outperformed but with gyrations seen as participants reflected on the slew of key data from China and with the large banks reducing interest rates on deposits by 25bps. However, sentiment was eventually lifted after comments from PBoC Governor Pan who reiterated that they could cut RRR further this year and noted expectations for a 20bps-25bps reduction in the Loan Prime Rates on Monday. Furthermore, it was initially reported that Pan announced the 7-day reverse repo rates would be lowered by 20bps and the interest rate on the Medium-term Lending Facility could be reduced by 30bps depending on market liquidity, although a major newswire later corrected this headline to state that Pan actually commented that the 7-day reverse repo rates and medium-term lending rates had already been lowered by 20bps and 30bps, respectively.

Agricultural Bank of China (1288 HK) and Bank of China (601988 CH) are to lower interest rates on CNY fixed rate deposits by 25bps from today. Additionally, China Construction Bank (939 HK) lowers interest rate of CNY-fixed deposits by 25bps from today.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

BOURSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.81% at 4,948, DAX +0.80% at 19,588, CAC 40 +1.22% at 7,584, FTSE 100 +0.67% at 8,385, SMI +0.94% at 12,308, FTSE MIB +1.09% at 35,039, IBEX 35 -0.77% at 11,905, AEX +0.66% at 899.

SECTORS: Industrials 1.41%, Consumer Stpl 1.32%, Healthcare 1.00%, Energy 0.97%, Financials 0.96%, Consumer Disc 0.39%, Telecoms 0.36%, IT 0.32%, Materials 0.03%, Utilities -0.24%

FTSE 100

BP (BP/ LN) - Co. is said to be considering the sale of a minority stake in its offshore wind business, via Reuters citing sources. (Newswires)

UK Cos - FCA welcomes the consultation into the regulation of currently-exempt buy now pay later products. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Tesco (TSCO LN) initiated with Outperform at BNP Paribas

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Adidas (ADS GY) upgraded to Add from Reduce at Baader Helvea

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Essilor Luxottica (EL FP) Q3 24 (EUR) - Revenue 6.437bln (exp. 6.58bln), Revenue growth ex-FX +4% (exp. +5.3%). North America revenue +0.5% y/y to 2.85bln (exp. 2.86bln), EMEA revenue +5% y/y to 2.43bln (exp. 2.47bln), Latin America revenue -5.6% y/y to 356mln (exp. 380.8mln), Asia Pacific revenue +4.5% y/y to 794mln (exp. 818.7mln), Direct-to-consumer revenue +3.1% y/y to 3.42bln (exp. 3.45bln), Professional Solutions revenue +1.3% y/y to 3.02bln (exp. 3.1bln). Sees Q4 revenue accelerating. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Casino (CO FP) - Initiated a statutory buyout process to acquire all shares in Cnova (CNV FP), for EUR 0.09/shr. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Aerospace/Defence Names - US President Biden's administration is to ease export controls on US space companies which are transmitting satellite/spacecraft-related products to allies and partners of the US, via Reuters citing sources. (Newswires)

Alcohol Names - MGP Ingredients (MGPI): Shares in the distilled spirits and food ingredients producer tumbled almost 20% afterhours following a negative preannouncement for Q3; sees Q3 EPS of 1.29 (exp. 1.44), with revenue of USD 161.5mln (exp. 185.3mln). CEO expressed disappointment, citing soft trends in the alcohol spirits category and high whiskey inventories. Now sees FY24 EPS between 5.55-5.65 (exp. 6.24). (Newswires)

Brunello Cucinelli (BCU IM) 9-Month (EUR) - Revenue +12.7% Y/Y to 920mln; confirms revenue growth of around 10% for 2024. (Newswires)

Chip Names - Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) has reportedly postponed taking delivery of ASML (ASML NA) chipmaking equipment for a planned Texas facility, via Reuters citing sources; due to them not yet securing any major customers for the site. (Newswires)

Luxury Names - Chinese sentiment was eventually lifted after comments from PBoC Governor Pan who reiterated that they could cut RRR further this year and noted expectations for a 20bps-25bps reduction in the Loan Prime Rates on Monday.

Raiffeisen Bank (RBI AV) - NII is to be revised down by EUR 32mln for Q2 and by EUR 63mln for H1, to align the treatment of Belarus/Russia in its results with the upcoming Q3 numbers. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Elisa (ELISA FH) - Q3 (EUR): Revenue 536mln (exp. 553mln), EBIT 136mln (exp. 136mln), PBT 126mln (exp. 127mln), EBITDA 206mln (exp. 205mln). FY outlook maintained. (Newswires)

Nokia (NOKIA FH) - Co. has decided to divide its corporate affairs function into two. (Newswires)

Volvo (VOLVB SS) - Q3 (SEK): Revenue 117bln (exp. 120bln), adj. Operating Income 14bln (exp. 14.7bln), Net Truck Order 43.2k (prev. 47.2k). Some uncertainty on near-term macroeconomic developments. Demand for buses remains strong in many markets, demand for construction equipment has slowed and particularly so in Europe. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.02% at 5,841, NDX +0.08% at 20,190, DJI +0.37% at 43,239, RUT -0.25% at 2,281.

SECTORS: Energy +0.44%, Technology +0.42%, Financials +0.32%, Materials +0.12%, Consumer Discretionary UNCH, Industrials -0.25%, Consumer Staples -0.41%, Health -0.58%, Real Estate -0.68%, Communication Services -0.69%, Utilities -0.93%.

Intel (INTC) seeks billions for a minority stake in Altera business and is looking for a deal that values Altera at USD 17bln, according to CNBC.

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) - Shares rose over 6% in afterhours trading as it beat Q3 profit estimates, driven by strong demand for its da Vinci surgical robots. Q3 adj. EPS 1.84 (exp. 1.64), Q3 revenue USD 2.04bln (exp. 2.01bln). Q3 instruments and accessories revenue +18% Y/Y to USD 1.26bln (exp. 1.24bln). Exec noted increasing headwinds in Asia; noted strong average selling price performance in Korea. Exec said placements in U.S. will progressively shift towards trade ins. And UK placements are being challenged by ongoing government measures impacting healthcare spending. Raised FY24 procedure growth outlook to +16-17% (prev. saw +15.5-17, reiterated its FY24 gross margin view to 68.5-69%, narrowed the range of its FY24 operating expense growth outlook to +10-12% (prev. saw 10-13%); continues to see FY24 capex between USD 1.0-1.2bln.

Netflix (NFLX) - Netflix's shares rose over 5% in afterhours trade as Q3 earnings topped estimates, driven by a 35% increase in ad-tier memberships. Q3 EPS 5.40 (exp. 5.12), Q3 revenue USD 9.82bln (exp. 9.76bln). Q3 streaming paid memberships 282.72mln (exp. 281.92mln). Q3 streaming paid net change +5.07mln (exp. +4.52mln); by region, UCAN +690k (exp. +697k), EMEA +2.17mln (exp. 1.44mln), LatAm -70k (exp. +975k), APAC +2.28mln (exp. +1.56mln). Sees Q4 revenue at USD 10.13bln (exp. 10.05bln), Q4 EPS at 4.23 (exp. 3.90). For the FY24, sees revenue +15% (exp. +14.9%; prev. saw +14-15%). And for the FY25 period, sees revenue between USD 43-44bln (exp. 43.4bln). Exec said it was making good progress in its advertising business, and projects ad revenues will roughly double Y/Y in FY25. It announced that its 2025 programming slate will showcase ambitious and diverse storytelling, with new seasons of popular shows set to debut. The company also tested a new intuitive homepage and plans to expand into gaming and live programming, including WWE and boxing events.

18 Oct 2024 - 07:00- EquitiesData- Source: Newsquawk