Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 19th April 2024

19th April 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks were lower across the board as the initial tech-related selling stemming from Wall St was exacerbated by reports of explosions in Iran following an Israeli operation although stocks are off today's worst levels as Iran downplayed and later denied the attack. ASX 200 was pressured with losses led by underperformance in tech and amid the bout of geopolitical-related turmoil. Nikkei 225 suffered intraday losses of around 3% and briefly dipped beneath the 37,000 level. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. were lower but with losses only mild compared to the regional counterparts especially the mainland which was largely unfazed by the various geopolitical headlines and disinformation.

Sony (6758 JT) and Apollo Global (APO) are reportedly in talks over a joint bid for Paramount Global (PARA), via FT citing sources which add that no offer has been presented to Paramount yet. (FT) Reminder, Paramount is already in exclusive negotiations with Skydance

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.45% at 17,716.92, FTSE 100: +0.37% at 7,845.89, CAC 40: +0.52% at 7,976.40, Euro Stoxx 50: +0.47% at 4,907.35, IBEX 35: +1.23% at 10,686.20, FTSE MIB: +0.74% at 33,577.40, SMI: 0.00% at 11,172.91.

SECTORS: Utilities 1.25%, Financials 1.01%, Industrials 0.63%, Consumer Stpl 0.60%, Telecoms 0.45%, Materials 0.08%, Consumer Disc 0.06%, Energy -0.43%, Healthcare -0.51%, IT -0.90%

FTSE 100

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Bayer (BAYN GY) - Is recalling two lots of Hydrasense baby nasal care easy dose due to potential contamination. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

BNP Paribas (BNP FP) - Co. was ordered by a US judge on Thursday to face a lawsuit in relation to Sudan, which violated US sanctions between 1997-2011. (Newswires)

Engie (ENGI FP) - Acquires two Biomethane production units in the Netherlands. (Newswires)

EssilorLuxottica (EL FP) - Q1 2024 (EUR): Revenue 6.34bln (exp. 6.25bln). Q4 Revenue +5.5% Y/Y; remains confident in strategic visions and ability to deliver on the long-term outlook. Executive says the price increase in frames will be in single digits across geographies and brands, mostly in the second part of Q2. (Newswires)

L'Oréal S.A. (OR FP) - Q1 FY24 (EUR): Revenue 11.24bln (exp. 10.92bln), +9.4% LFL (exp. +6.6%). Says it is confident in its ability for another year of growth in sales (FY Revenue exp. +7%) and profit (FY Net exp. +9.3%). CEO says China sales grew by more than 6% in Q1, well above market growth of 1%; makeup has slowed the most in North America but fragrance is doing great - earnings call. Q2 will be more challenging and expect acceleration in H2. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Sodexo (SW FP) - H1 (EUR): Revenue 12.1bln, +4.5%; Op Profit 642mln, +26.1%; Organic growth 12.1bln. Sees FY24 organic revenue growth at the top of its 6-8% range, boosted by the Paris Olympics and higher pricing. (Newswires)

Spie (SPIE FP) - Closes acquisition of IGC in Germany. (Newswires)

Technip Energies (TE FP) - Has been awarded a front-end engineering design contract, in the UK. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Oil Names / Defence Names / Geopolitics - Israel conducted an operation against Iran which an Iranian official said was on a military airbase near Isfahan. However, Iran's Press TV later denied reports of a foreign attack in Iranian cities including Isfahan - full details here. Brent Jun currently up around USD 1.65/bbl at USD 88.72

Proximus (PROX BB) - Signs agreement with NRB to acquire an additional 5G spectrum. (Newswires)

Prysmian (PRY IM) - Appoints Massimo Battaini as CEO. (Newswires)

Poste Italiane (PST IM) - To propose a buyback for up to EUR 56mln at the AGM. (Newswires)

WDP (WDP BB) - Q1 (EUR): Strong earnings growth per share ERPA 0.33, +7% Y/Y. Earnings 72.3mln, +15.3% Y/Y. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Roche (ROG SW) - FDA approves Roche’s Alecensa as the first adjuvant treatment for people with ALK-positive early-stage lung cancer. (Newswires)

Nestle (NESN SW) - Announces retirement of Marco Settembri, Le Cunff appointed as CEO Zone Europe. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Temenos’ (TEMN SW; TMSNY) - Short position at Hindenburg who writes "Independent Examination” Strikes Us As A Tacit Confirmation Of Accounting Manipulation And Disclosure Violations, Spun With Lawyer-Speak And Gaslighting. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Elisa (ELISA FH) - Q1 (EUR): Pretax profit 104mln (exp. 108.4mln), EBIT 112mln (exp. 114.7mln), EBITDA 179.7mln (ep. 184.7mln), Revenue 534.5mln (exp. 184.7mln). (Newswires)

Royal Unibrew (RBREW DC) - Q1 (DKK): Net Income 100mln (exp. 90mln), EBIT 210mln (exp. 201mln), EBITDA 376mln (exp. 265mln). FY outlook unchanged 15bln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.22% at 5,011, NDX -0.57% at 17,394, DJIA +0.06% at 37,775, RUT -0.26% at 1,942.

SECTORS: Technology -0.89%, Consumer Discretionary -0.71%, Industrials -0.35%, Energy -0.22%, Health +0.02%, Real Estate +0.02%, Materials +0.03%, Financials +0.40%, Consumer Staples +0.41%, Utilities +0.61%, Communication Services +0.66%.

Google's (GOOGL) - Pichai says plan to share more AI progress on earnings call (earnings date April 25th)

Netflix Inc (NFLX) - Q1 2024 (USD): EPS 5.28 (exp. 4.52), Revenue 9.37bln (exp. 9.28bln), Q1 Subscriber Additions 9.33mln (exp. 5.11mln). Guides Q2 EPS USD 4.68 (exp. 4.54). Guides Q2 revenue USD 9.49bln (exp. 9.51bln). Guides Q2 Subscriber Additions to be lower in Q2 vs Q1 due to typical seasonality (exp. 3.51mln).  Guides Q2 operating margin 26.6% (exp. 25.4%). (Newswires) Shares -4.7% after-hours

19 Apr 2024 - 06:55- Exclusive- Source: Newsquawk