Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 21st April 2023

21st April 2023

ASIA

APAC stocks were mostly lower as the region tracked the losses on Wall St where risk sentiment was subdued after mixed earnings releases and disappointing US data. ASX 200 was pressured by weakness in financials and underperformance in the mining sector as Australia’s largest company BHP suffered after a decline in quarterly iron ore output. Nikkei 225 traded indecisively following mixed PMIs and the latest inflation data which printed mostly in line with estimates but remained above 3% and showed an acceleration in nationwide Ex. Fresh Food & Energy CPI. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp underperformed amid ongoing US-China frictions with President Biden to unveil China investment curbs, while there was also fierce rhetoric from China's Foreign Minister who said both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to China and warned that those who play with fire on Taiwan will get burned.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.20% at 4,384, FTSE 100 +0.05% at 7,902, DAX 40 -0.62% at 15,795, CAC 40 -0.14% at 7,538, FTSE MIB -1.10% at 27,627, IBEX 35 -0.46% at 9,450, SMI +0.29% at 11,399.

SECTORS: Consumer Stpl 0.42%, Utilities 0.39%, Industrials 0.23%, Materials -0.11%, Healthcare -0.11%, Telecoms -0.26%, Consumer Disc -0.33%, Financials -0.33%, IT -0.52%, Energy -0.68%

FTSE 100

Mining Names - BHP (BHP AT) quarterly iron ore WAIO production 66.2mln tons (prev. 66.7mln tons Y/Y), nickel output 19.6k tons (prev. 18.7k tons Y/Y), copper output 405.9k tons (prev. 369.7k tons Y/Y) and metallurgical coal output 6.9mln tons (prev. 7.9mln tons Y/Y). Co. said 2023 production guidance for iron ore, copper metallurgical coal and energy coal remains unchanged, while nickel output guidance was lowered. China's economic rebound and solid momentum in India's steelmaking growth are helping offset the impact of slowing growth in the US, Europe and Japan. Provisions related to the Samarco Dam failure and Germano Dam decommissioning subject to ongoing assessment totalled USD 3.3bln as of end-2022 and have an expected outlay of USD 1.95bln for 2023. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

FirstGroup (FGP LN) - Co. and I Squared weigh separate bids for Deutsche Bahn's international transport business Arriva, via Reuters citing sources. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

DAX

SAP (SAP GY) - Q1 (EUR): Revenue 7.44bln (exp. 7.34bln), Cloud Revenue 3.18bln (exp. 3.22bln), adj. EPS 1.08 (exp. 1.20) Co. said the wind down of its Russian and Belarus business is almost complete. FY23 guidance: Cloud Revenue: 14.0-14.4bln (2022 11.43bln). Cloud & Software Revenue: 26.9-27.4bln (2022 25.4bln). non-IFRS Operating Profit: 8.6-8.9bln (2022 7.99bln). (Newswires) 8.7% weighting in the DAX 40.

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Co. received USD 10bln pledge from Canada for EV battery plant; Stellantis (STLA) and LG Electronics (066570 KS) are also in talks with Canada on aid for a battery plant, according to Bloomberg. Additionally, Canada will provide around CAD 700mln in grants towards VW's factory's capital cost, according to Reuters sources. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Porsche SE (PAH3 GY) – Co. has successfully launched its debut bond. Funds will be used for refinancing a bridge loan with to acquire shares in Porsche AG (P911 GY). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Credit Agricole (ACA FP) – Reached a EUR 35mln settlement with French fiscal authorities to resolve claims relating to a tax probe, via Bloomberg citing sources. (Newswires)

LVMH (MC FP) - Approval was given for the payment of a dividend of EUR 12/shr for FY22. Taking into account the EUR 5 December 5th, 2022, the balance of EUR 7 will be paid on Thursday, April 27th, 2023. (Newswires)

Renault (RNO FP) - Co. reportedly tapped banks to work on a planned listing of its electric car unit, Ampere; planned for a Paris listing and could be valued up to EUR 10bln, according to Reuters sources. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Auto Names - Tesla (TSLA) increased the prices of Model S and Model X vehicles in the US and now offers 3 years of unlimited free Supercharging with any new Model S or X purchase by June 30th. (Newswires)

Ferragamo (SFER IM) - Q1 2023 (EUR): Revenue 278mln (exp. 280mln); Sales down 4% at current exchange rates. CEO said it saw improvement in sales towards the end of Q1 that has continued through the start of April. Europe is still in recovery mode and hopes in Q2/Q3 tourism will pick up pace in the region. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Credit Suisse (CSGN SW) - Bondholders have launched a legal challenge in Switzerland against the regulators decision to write down USD 17bln in securities as part of the rescue by UBS (UBSN SW), according to WSJ. (WSJ)

Nestle (NESN SW) – Co. says annual review, financial statements, and proposed dividend were approved. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Tele2 (TELE2 SS) - Q1 2023 (SEK): Net profit 849mln (prev. 2.474bln Y/Y). Revenue 7.009bln (prev. 6.744bln). EPS 1.23 (prev. 3.59). Equity FCF 1.119bln (prev. 910mln). Operating profit 1.264bln (prev. 2.903bln). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

Meta (META) - CEO Zuckerberg said Meta will slow hiring and will not rule out layoffs, according to WSJ. (WSJ) Separately, plans to cut 10% of UK workforce in retreat from London, according to FT. (FT)

Tesla (TSLA) - Co. raises US price of Model X to USD 97,490 from 94,990 and price of Model X Plaid to USD 107,490 from 104,990, while it raises price of Model S to USD 87,490 from 84,990 and raised price of Model S Plaid to USD 107,490 from USD 104,990. Tesla offers 3 years of unlimited free Supercharging with any new Model S or X purchase by June 30th. (Newswires) Model X and S accounted for 2.5% of total Q1 deliveries

21 Apr 2023 - 06:46- EquitiesResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk