Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 20th March 2024

20th March 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks traded cautiously and mostly rangebound ahead of the FOMC and with Japanese markets closed. ASX 200 struggled for direction as strength in energy was offset by losses in the tech and consumer sectors. KOSPI outperformed as South Korea plans to cut corporate and dividend income tax to encourage a higher shareholder return, while index heavyweight Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) rose over 5% and was helped by reports that NVIDIA looks to procure high-bandwidth memory chips from the Co. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. were indecisive as participants digested the latest earnings releases, while Prada (1913 HK) shares slipped in early trade after Gucci owner Kering (KER FP) issued a luxury sector warning amid Asia-Pacific weakness, while the mainland was kept afloat following the lack of surprises from the PBoC's benchmark LPRs which were maintained at their current levels.

Geely Auto (175 HK) - FY (CNY) profit attributable 5.31bln (prev. 5.26bln Y/Y), rev. 179.2bln (prev. 148.0bln Y/Y), recommends a final dividend of HKD 0.22/shr (prev. HKD 0.21/shr Y/Y). ZEEKR will continue to deepen its layout in major countries and regions such as Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. ZEEKR will launch three new products to enter more market segments in 2024.

Samsung (005930 KS) - NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) reportedly looks to procure high-bandwidth memory chips from Samsung, according to Nikkei. (Nikkei)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50: +0.48% at 5,006.55, FTSE 100: +0.20% at 7,738.30, FTSE 250: -0.28% at 19,432.81, IBEX 35: +0.99% at 10,701.40, FTSE MIB: +0.95% at 34,262.36, SMI: -0.39% at 11,577.80, CAC 40: +0.65% at 8,201.05, DAX: +0.31% at 17,988.13.

SECTORS: Energy 1.67%, Financials 0.77%, Materials 0.64%, Telecoms 0.45%, Consumer Disc 0.42%, Industrials 0.07%, Consumer Stpl -0.16%, IT -0.17%, Utilities -0.30%, Healthcare -0.55%

FTSE 100

AstraZeneca (AZN), Puma Biotechnology (PBYI) - Puma Biotechnology sued AstraZeneca for patent infringement on lung cancer treatment. AstraZeneca challenged patents' validity. The court denied AstraZeneca's motion. Trial is set for May 13th, 2024. (Newswires) 

Prudential (PRU LN) - FY (USD) adj. oper. profit from cont. ops 2.9bln (prev. 3.4bln Y/Y), declares second interim dividend of 14.21 cents/shr, Co. is increasingly confident in achieving 2027 objectives Co. executed a USD 41mln buyback in January and intends to make further purchases in the future. Sales growth continued in the first two months of 2024. (Newswires) Shares rose 1.6% in Hong Kong trade.

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Rheinmetall (RHM GY) - The CEO said that EU leaders should consider installing a short-range air defence system similar to the Iron Dome. (FT)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Deutsche Wohnen (DWNI GY) - FY (EUR): adj. EBITDA Rental 638mln, +6.3%, FFO/shr 1.31 (prelim. 1.31). (Newswires)

Encavis (ECV GY) - Collaborating with BELECTRIC to build a large-scale and high-performance solar farm with a capacity of 114MW and an annual power gen of 119 GWh. (Newswires)

Zeal Network (TIMA GY) - FY23 (EUR): 32.9mln (prev. 31.7mln Y/Y), Revenue 116mln (prev. 105.2mln Y/Y). Guides initial FY24 Revenue 140-150mln, EBITDA 38-42mln. Acquires further shares in Lotto24 (LO24 GY) with the intention to request a squeeze out of the minority holders. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

BASF (BAS GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

Encavis (ECV GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

Rational (RAA GY) initiated with Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Co. changed tone in bargaining following A220 strike authorisation and pressure tactics, according to a union memo to members. (Newswires)

French Trade - Trade will reportedly be high on the agenda when Chinese President Xi meets French President Macron in May, according to Reuters sources. (Newswires)

Kering (KER FP)/Luxury Sectors - Kering said Gucci comp revenues in Q1 expected to be down nearly 20% Y/Y and expect group revenue to be -10% Y/Y. "This performance primarily reflects a steeper sales drop at Gucci, notably in the Asia-Pacific region." Kering will release its first quarter 2024 revenue on April 23 after market. (Kering) Prada (1913 HK) shares fell 2.3% in Hong Kong. Note, luxury peer LVMH is the largest weighted stock in the CAC 40 (10.6%), and the second largest in the Euro Stoxx 50 (5.9%).

Renault (RNO FP) - Korean unit is to invest USD 523mln in the new Busan hybrid vehicle line, according to Nikkei. (Nikkei)

Saint-Gobain (SGO FP) – Teamsters said new contract agreement with Co. includes significant wage increases and Teamsters healthcare coverage. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Atos (ATO FP) – French Finance Minister Le Maire said France is seeking a solution to protect the Co’s strategic assets. (Newswires)

Bureau Veritas (BVI FP) - Plans up to EUR 200mln share buyback in 2024. Targets FY28 Adj Op. margin consistent improvement, Revenue high-single-digit total growth. (Newswires)

Eutelsat (ETL FP) – Co. and Intelsat sign new deal for partnership on Eutelsat’s OneWeb Low Earth Orbit Constellation. (Newswires)

Worldline (WLN FP) – Launches JV with Credit Agricole (ACA FP) to provide digital payments to merchants in France. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

AB InBev (ABI BB) - Announced the pricing of USD 1bln SEC-registered bond offering consisting of USD-denominated 5% fixed rate notes due 2034. (Newswires)

Chip Names - The US is said to be considering sanctioning Huawei's chipmaking network by including them in the entity list, according to Bloomberg. Companies that could be blacklisted over links with Huawei include chipmakers Qingdao Si’en, Swaysure, and Shenzhen Pensun Technology. (Bloomberg)

Iberdrola (IBE SM) – To propose a reduction in capital via retirement of up to 183.3mln (2.85% share capital) of own shares. (Newswires)

IMCD (IMCD NA) - Acquires Bretano, no terms disclosed. (Newswires)

Poste Italiane (PST IM) – Guides initial FY24 EBIT 2.7bln (exp. 2.67bln), Revenue 12bln (exp. 12.1bln). Targets FY28 Net 2.3bln, EBIT 3.2bln, Revenue 13.5bln. (Newswires)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) – Partners with California to drive carbon emission reduction efforts. (Newswires)

Terna (TRN IM) – FY23 (EUR): Net 885.4mln (prev. 857mln Y/Y), EBITDA 2.17bln (prev. 2.13bln Y/Y), Revenue 3.19bln (prev. 2.96bln Y/Y). Guides initial FY24-28 EPS 0.55/shr, Revenue 3.25bln, Capex 16.8bln, EBITDA 3.25bln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Banco BPM (BAMI IM) resumed with Buy at Citigroup

Eni (ENI IM) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

SMI

Lonza (LONN SW)/Roche (ROG SW) – Lonza is to acquire large-scale biologics in Vacaville from Roche for USD 1.2bln in cash. Raises mid-term FY24 CAGR sales growth 12-15% (prev. guided 11-13%). (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Julius Baer (BAER SW) – Successfully places CHF 460mln of domestic senior unsecured bonds. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

SAS (SAS SS) – Receives court approval of Chapter 11 plan. (Newswires)

SEB (SEBA SS) – To initiate SEK 2bln buyback program. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Rockwool (ROCKB DC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at DNB Markets

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.56% at 5,179, NDX +0.26% at 18,032, DJI +0.83% at 39,111, RUT +0.54% at 2,036.

SECTORS: Energy +1.08%, Utilities +0.92%, Consumer Discretionary +0.86%, Industrials +0.82%, Health +0.67%, Technology +0.64%, Financials +0.48%, Consumer Staples +0.35%, Materials +0.03%, Real Estate unchanged, Communication Services -0.17%.

Apple (AAPL) – CEO Cook posts on Weibo that he is visiting Shanghai. (Newswires)

Boeing (BA), Spirit AeroSystems (SPR), Airbus (EADSY) - Boeing is looking into how it can sever Spirit AeroSystems' ties with Airbus to facilitate Boeing's bid to reacquire its former subsidiary, Reuters reports. The planemaker aims to divest specific Spirit businesses supplying Airbus components or redeploy them if an agreement is reached. Boeing is cautious due to quality issues and cost concerns, accelerating efforts after a recent 737 MAX 9 incident. Airbus dependency poses regulatory and financial challenges.

Intel (INTC) - US President Biden is to announce a grant for Intel (INTC) to expand chip production; multibillion-dollar grant to Intel is to be awarded Wednesday, according to NYT. (NYT)

Nvidia (NVDA) - CFO said the co. plans to start shipping the Blackwell chips "later this year". (Newswires)

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) - Super Micro is guiding potential investors in a sale of 2mln shares to a price of USD 875 each, below an earlier marketed range of USD 900-1,000.68, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. At USD 875/shr, it would raise as much as USD 1.75bln, the report said. Goldman Sachs has been informally communicating the price after having earlier delayed the sale’s timing. The pricing was set to occur before Super Micro’s shares began trading on Wednesday.

SpaceX – CFO does not expect Starlink IPO to happen in 2024. (Newswires)

Tesla (TSLA) - Raises price of China-produced Model Y by CNY 5,000 effective April 1st, while insurance and paint incentives will expire at end-March. (Newswires)

20 Mar 2024 - 06:47- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk