Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 21st August 2024

21st August 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks were subdued following the lacklustre performance stateside where the major indices traded sideways and finished with mild losses amid the absence of macro drivers ahead of the FOMC Minutes. ASX 200 declined amid a deluge of earnings with underperformance in energy following a retreat in oil prices and with Santos shares pressured after it reported an 18% drop in H1 underlying profit. Nikkei 225 slumped at the open amid pressure from recent currency strength but is off worst levels. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. retreated with the former ragged lower by tech weakness as JD.com suffered a double-digit drop after reports Walmart is seeking to offload its USD 3.5bln stake in the Co. However, the losses in the mainland are limited following the PBoC's firm liquidity effort.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: -0.36% at 18,355, FTSE 100: -1.00% at 8,273, CAC 40: -0.22% at 7,486, Euro Stoxx 50: -0.30% at 4,858, AEX: -0.64% at 903, IBEX 35: -0.13% at 11,088, FTSE MIB: -0.57% at 33,076, SMI: flat at 12,275, PSI: -0.68% at 6,678

SECTORS: Consumer Disc 0.03%, IT 0.00%, Materials -0.09%, Healthcare -0.09%, Utilities -0.24%, Industrials -0.37%, Financials -0.56%, Consumer Stpl -0.64%, Telecoms -0.70%, Energy -2.17%

FTSE 100

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

French Stocks - France's caretaker Government limits 2025 state spending to EUR 492bln, same as 2024; 2025 spending limits on Ministries imply roughly EUR 10bln in savings after inflation. Government 2025 spending limits keep France on track to cut the overall budget deficit to less than 3% of GDP in 2027. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

ADP (ADP FP) – July 2024 traffic 35.8mln, +4.7% Y/Y; 9.9mln passengers, +1% Y/Y. (Newswires)

Eiffage (FGR FP) – Co. and De Romein won a partnership contract to deliver the civil engineering for Amprion’s future project in Germany. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

ASR Nederland (ASRNL NA) – H1 (EUR): Op. Result 677mln (prev. 460mln Y/Y), Solvency II Ratio 181% (prev. 176% Y/Y). On track to achieve the medium-term group and business targets. Interim dividend 1.16/shr (Co. consensus 1.16/shr). (Newswires)

Bper Banca (BPE IM) – Norges Bank cut its stake in the Co. to 2.9% (prev. 4.8%). (Newswires)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Co. said Tim Fallon has joined as Head of Manufacturing in North America. Separately, Co. said its planned investment in Illinois will be delayed but is still committed to moving forward with the investment; Co. cites the need for a new timetable to ensure competitiveness. (Newswires) (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Voestalpine (VOES AV) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanely

UCB (UCB BB) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

SMI

Alcon (ALC SW) – Q2 (USD): Revenue 2.48bln (exp. 2.53bln), Adj. EPS 0.74 (exp. 0.73). Maintained FY outlook. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BKW (BKW SW) – H1 (CHF): Total Op. Income 2.33bln, -3% Y/Y, Net Profit 363mln, +7% Y/Y. (Newswires)

SoftwareOne (SWON SW) – H1 (CHF): Adj. EBITDA 121.9mln (exp. 126mln). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Sonova (SOON SW) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

SCANDINAVIA

EQT (EQT SS) – Will invest in Australia’s Compass to support ongoing growth, product development and innovation. (Newswires)

Maersk (MAERSKB DC) - Co. continues to accept Canadian cargo as operators brace for rail stoppage, according to WSJ; Shipping line said in an earlier statement about limits on cargo to Canada was inaccurate, while other operators say they are readying contingency plans. (WSJ)

Mowi (MOWI NO) – Q2 (EUR): Revenue 1.34bln (exp. 1.4bln). To pay a dividend of NOK 1.7/shr. Earnings were held back by temporary market headwinds in the US and margin pressure in Europe from high raw material prices. Well on track to deliver on volume guidance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Demant (DEMANT DC) upgraded to Overweight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.20% at 5,597, NDX -0.24% at 19,720, DJIA -0.15% at 40,835, RUT -1.17% at 2,142

SECTORS: Energy -2.65%, Materials -0.38%, Financials -0.33%, Technology -0.32%, Industrials -0.29%, Utilities -0.25%, Consumer Discretionary -0.02%, Communication Services +0.03%, Real Estate +0.06%, Health +0.37%, Consumer Staples +0.53%

Coty (COTY) - Q4 (USD) adj. EPS -0.03 (exp. 0.04), Revenue 1.36bln (exp. 1.38bln). Gross margin 64.2% (exp. 63.5%). Americas net revenue 583mln (exp. 575mln); EMEA net revenue 598.1mln (exp. 604.8mln), APAC net revenue 182.3mln (exp. 188.6mln). By segment, Prestige channel net revenue 802.8mln (exp. 808.8mln), consumer beauty net revenue 560.6mln (exp. 569.9mln). It anticipates beauty demand in mature markets to expand in mid-single digits in FY25. Sees FY25 adj. EBITDA between 1.19-1.21bln (exp. 1.19bln), adj. EPS between 0.54-0.57 (exp. 0.57), and FCF low-to-mid USD 400mln range. (Newswires)

FMC Corporation (FMC) - FMC submitted regulatory applications for Dodhylex active herbicide in eight major rice-growing countries, covering 35% of global rice acreage. The herbicide, with a new mode of action, is expected to launch in 2026, pending approvals. (Newswires)

McDonald’s (MCD) - McDonald’s plans to invest GBP 1bln to open 200 new restaurants in the UK and Ireland, creating 24,000 jobs over four years, The Times reports. The expansion, its largest since 2002, reflects a renewed focus on high-street locations and significantly increases its investment compared to the previous five years. (Newswires)

Microchip Technology (MCHP) - Detected potentially suspicious activity involving its IT systems on August 17th and determined two days later that an unauthorised party disrupted Co.'s use of certain servers and some business operations. (Newswires)

Walmart (WMT), JD.com (JD) - Walmart is selling its USD 3.6bln stake in JD.com, ending an eight-year partnership as it focuses on its own online platform. Sources said it sold 144.5mln shares at USD 24.95/shr, an 11% discount to Tuesday’s closing price, and near the lower end of an indicative USD 24.85-25.85 price range, signalling Walmart's shift amid a challenging environment for Chinese tech companies, Bloomberg reported. (Bloomberg)

21 Aug 2024 - 06:45- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk