Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 21st April 2021

The Daily European Equity Opening News is uploaded at 0700BST/0200EDT recapping all of the overnight equity news.

From 0700BST/0200EDT all equity news will be covered in real-time over the audio and headline feed and the full audio rundown will be at 0715BST/0215EDT.

There will be an additional audio rundown at 0750BST/0250EDT recapping any company news which has hit the wires since 0715BST/0215EDT ahead of the European equity open

European equity coverage will only cover companies in the STOXX 600 or companies of systemic importance to particular sectors.

ASIA

Asian equity markets mostly slumped as the negative mood rolled over from the US where the major indices extended on declines led by underperformance in energy and financials amid lower oil prices and yields. In addition, earnings releases did little to spur risk appetite and Netflix shares slumped around 10% after hours despite beating on top and bottom lines, as its subscriber additions were significantly below forecasts and Q2 estimates also underwhelmed. ASX 200 (-0.7%) was negative with the energy sector the worst hit following the recent retreat in oil prices and as participants digested the latest quarterly updates including from BHP which reported a decline in iron ore output and lower than expected shipments. Nikkei 225 (-1.9%) was heavily pressured by a firmer currency and with the government reportedly to declare an emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and Hyogo due to COVID-19 whereby a formal decision could be made as soon as this week. Hang Seng (-1.7%) and Shanghai Comp. (+0.2%) conformed to the lacklustre mood amid concerns of a regulatory crackdown after MIIT noted that China is to strengthen its inspections of internet companies and although mainland bourses eventually showed resilience, the Hong Kong benchmark languished near its lows after having gapped below the 29k level amid notable losses in the oil majors and with Anta Sports the worst hit among the blue chips after reports its controlling shareholder will offload 88mln shares.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: EUROPEAN PRELIMINARY CASH EQUITY CLOSES: EURO STOXX 50 -2.02% AT 3,939; FTSE 100 -2.01% AT 6,858; DAX -1.52% AT 15,135; CAC 40 -2.17% AT 6,160; IBEX 35 -2.99% AT 8,452; FTSE MIB -2.56% AT 24,059; SMI -1.17% AT 11,078

SECTORS: Healthcare -0.57%, Utilities -1.15%, Consumer Stpl -1.48%, Telecoms -1.51%, Materials -1.75%, IT -1.82%, Industrials -2.06%, Consumer Disc -2.47%, Financials -2.94%, Energy -3.17%

FTSE 100

BHP (BHP LN) - Q3 Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) production 66.7mln tons vs prev. 68.0mln tons Y/Y, iron ore shipments 66.0mln vs exp. 67.1mln tons, copper output 391.4k tons vs prev. 425k tons, says production guidance of petroleum and iron ore for fiscal year is unchanged. (Newswires)

HSBC (HSBA LN) – CEO Quinn says they will not be altering strategy every time tensions flare between China and the West, additionally in-spite of the lagging performance of non-APAC operations says they is still a justification for such a presence. (FT)

Housing Names – From today, Nationwide will be allowing first-time buyers to borrow 5.5x their annual salary under a mortgage, the first time such a level has been offered for almost 10-years. (Times)

Just Eat (JE/ LN) – Co. is to offer 1.5k couriers in Liverpool, England with a minimum hourly rate alongside sick/holiday pay by year-end, as part of a move away from contractors. (Guardian)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

BP (BP/ LN) INITIATED WITH HOLD AT DEUTSCHE BANK

SHELL (RDSA LN) INITIATED WITH BUY AT DEUTSCHE BANK

DAX

Bayer (BAYN GY) – Co. is funding an individuals case against the Roundup weed killer in an attempt to have the judgement within the Carson case, in which a district judge said Bayer had not duty to warn about the cancer risk due to the US EPA approving the label, agreed at a federal appeals court. Additionally, looking to force the case to appear before the US Supreme Court in which a favourable ruling could undercut key claims within thousands of lawsuits. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Metro (B4B GY) - Co. downgrades FY21 revenue growth guidance to the range of -3% to -6% vs prev. "slightly lower" Y/Y. Adj. EBITDA cut to the range of EUR -50mln to EUR -175mln vs prev. "decline by double-digit millions". Co. cites the slower re-openings as its main factor. (Newswires)

Qiagen (QIA GY) – Co. and Diasorin (DIA IM) are launching Liaison Lymedetects assay for Lyme Borreliosis diagnosis in nations accepting the CE mark. (Newswires)

Sartorius (SRT GY) - Q1 EBITDA EUR 263.2mln vs prev. EUR 137.9mln. Revenue EUR 791.1mln vs prev. EUR 509mln. Y/Y. (Newswires)

Zalando (ZAL GY) – Prelim. Q1 revenue EUR 2.22-2.26bln vs exp. EUR 2.156bln, gross merchandise volume EUR 3.13-3.17bln vs prev. EUR 2.0bln. Q1 was above market expectations. Expects Q1 adj. EBIT to be EUR 80mln to 100mln vs prev. EUR -98.6mln. CEO says they will be extending their buying/selling service for pre-owned items into an additional seven countries and continue to promote sustainable options. (Newswires/FT) Co. is called to open higher by around 5%

BROKER MOVES

SIEMENS HEALTHINEERS (SHL GY) RESUMED WITH OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN CHASE

UNITED INTERNET (UTDI GY) INITIATED WITH BUY AT STIFEL NICOLAUS

ZALANDO (ZAL GY) INITIATED WITH BUY AT HSBC

CAC

Carrefour (CA FP) - Q1 revenue EUR 18.6bln vs prev. EUR 19.5bln. LFL sales +3.5% Y/Y, e-commerce +56% Y/Y. Co. announces a EUR 500mln share buyback in 2021, in-line with its capital allocation policy. (Newswires)

Kering (KER FP) - Q1 revenue +21.4% to EUR 3.89bln vs exp. EUR 3.60bln. Gucci revenue EUR 2.17bln vs prev. EUR 1.8bln Y/Y. Gucci comp sales +78% in APAC and +51% in North America. Gucci wholesale -26.1% on a comparable basis. Gucci LFL sales +24.6% vs exp. +19%. Group sales +83% Y/Y in APAC and +46% Y/Y in North America. Online sales +108% across regions. CFO said share buyback may not be the best solution and the trend is very positive with customers in Italy, France and Germany, but the environment is more challenging within the UK. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Akzo Nobel (AKZA NA) - Q1 adj. operating profit EUR 307mln vs prev. EUR 214mln. Revenue EUR 2.26bln vs prev. EUR 2.06bln. Net income from total operations EUR 217mln vs prev. EUR 114mln. EPS from total operating EUR 1.15 vs prev. EUR 0.59. Co. notes that raw material and other variable costs in Q1 increased by EUR 38mln. Co. targets growth at least in-line with its relevant markets. (Newswires)

ASML (ASML NA) - Q1 net sales EUR 4.364bln vs prev. EUR 4.254bln. Net bookings EUR 4.740bln vs prev. EUR 4.238bln. Gross profit EUR 2.352bln vs prev. EUR 2.212bln. Net income EUR 1.331bln vs prev. EUR 1.351bln. Basic EPS EUR 3.21 vs prev. EUR 3.23. Q2 2021 net sales expected between EUR 4.0-4.1bln and a gross margin around 49%. Co. now expects revenue growth towards 30% in 2021 compared to last year. ASML expects an early completion of the current share buyback program. CEO said the Co. is seeing a significant increase in demand across all market segments and its product portfolio vs three months ago. (ASML) Note - the Co. provided no commentary on the chip shortage

Randstad (RAND NA) – Q1 revenue EUR 5.53bln vs exp. EUR 5.4bln, net income EUR 153mln vs exp. EUR 116mln. COVID-19 impact in Q1 was fairly limited. Volumes in April are beginning to approach 2019 figures, a continuation of the trend in March. (Newswires)

Vopak (VPK NA) – Interim Q1: EBIT EUR 121mln vs prev. EUR 127mln, net profit EUR 73mln vs prev. EUR 83mln, EBITDA EUR 200mln vs prev. EUR 200mln. No exceptional items in Q1. Positive view on chemicals has not altered. Cost efficiency measures tracking well for Q1. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Credit Suisse (CSGN SW) - Regulators are said to be questioning the Co. over the Archegos-related stock offloading, according to reports. (Newswires)

Roche (ROG SW) - Q1 group sales CHF 14.93bln vs prev. 15.143bln Y/Y. Pharma division sales CHF 10.600bln vs prev. CHF 12.262bln. Diagnostics division sales CHF 4.330bln vs prev. CHF 2.881bln. Co. affirms 2021 outlook. Roche signs definitive merger agreement with GenMark Diagnostics. Announce positive phase III results for Tecentriq in early lung cancer and for eye medicine faricimab. (Roche)

OTHER SWISS COMPANI

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Ericsson (ERICB SS) - Q1 sales SEK 49.8bln vs exp. SEK 53.42bln. Adj. operating profit SEK 5.30bln vs exp. 5.01bln. EBIT margin 10.6% vs prev. 8.7%. Diluted EPS SEK 0.96 vs prev. SEK 0.65. Gross margin 42.9% vs prev. 40.4%. Net cash SEK 43bln vs prev. SEK 38.4bln. Impairment losses on trade receivables SEK 200mln vs prev. SEK 200mln. CEO says "There is strong momentum in the global 5G demand with lead markets moving forward at high pace, creating opportunities for us to grow our core business". (Ericsson/Newswires)

Handelsbanken (SHBB SS) – Q1 net profit SEK 4.3bln vs exp. SEK 3.9bln, net interest income SEK 7.8bln vs exp. SEK 7.8bln, operating profit SEK 5.6bln vs exp. SEK 5.3bln. Cost cutting programme is on target, thus far had a positive profit impact of SEK 200mln. (Newswires)

Maersk (MAERSKB DC) - Co. expects the Suez Canal congestion effects to seep into Q3-2021. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

Netflix Inc (NFLX) Q1 21 (USD) - EPS 3.75 (exp. 2.97), Revenue 7.16bln (exp. 7.13bln), net subscriber additions missed expectations. Net Subscriber Additions: 3.98mln (exp. 6.25mln), sees Q2 additions at 1.0mln (exp. 4.78mln). Believes Q1 paid membership growth slowed due to large COVID-19 pull forward last year. Sees Q2 EPS 3.16 (exp. 2.68/2.66 GAAP). Sees Q2 rev. 7.30bln (exp. 7.39bln). Board approved USD 5bln share repurchase which it expects to begin this quarter with no fixed expiration date. (PR Newswire) Shares fell around 9% after-hours

CLOSES: SPX -0.72% at 4,133, NDX -0.71% at 13,809, DJIA -0.75% at 33,821, R2K -1.96% at 2,183

SECTORS: ENERGY -2.66%, FINANCIALS -1.81%, CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY -1.22%, INDUSTRIALS -1.09%, MATERIALS -0.94%, TECHNOLOGY -0.84%, COMMUNICATION SVS. -0.51%, HEALTH +0.43%, CONSUMER STAPLES +0.57%, REAL ESTATE +1.12%, UTILITIES +1.32%

21 Apr 2021 - 06:49- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk