Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 21st December 2023

21st December 2023

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mostly lower as the downbeat sentiment from Wall Street reverberated despite a lack of major catalysts to spark the global equity selloff, although Mainland Chinese markets eventually eked out gains. ASX 200 saw the deepest losses in its Tech and Gold sectors, and the index briefly fell under 7,500. Nikkei 225 slipped at the open and underperformed throughout the session, and consumer-geared sectors were among the worst performers, whilst JPY dynamics did not help the index. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp started in the green with the former initially conforming to the broader risk tone before ebbing lower with Tech and Energy among its biggest losers. Mainland China was supported following a hefty PBoC liquidity operation via 7 and 14-day reverse repos.

South Korean Stocks - South Korea to relax capital gains tax threshold for large shareholders, says capital gains tax for listed shares will hit those holding more than KRW 5bln starting 2024, according to the Finance Ministry

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX -0.07% at 16,733.05, FTSE 100 +1.02% at 7,715.68, CAC 40 +0.12% at 7,583.43, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.03% at 4,534.15, AEX +0.15% at 793.69, IBEX 35 -0.06% at 10,101.00, FTSE MIB -0.01% at 30,361.21, SMI -0.01% at 11,144.88, PSI -0.32% at 6,344.54.

SECTORS: Telecoms 0.92%, Energy 0.54%, Industrials 0.29%, Financials 0.24%, Consumer Disc 0.15%, Healthcare 0.09%, Consumer Stpl 0.05%, Materials 0.04%, Utilities -0.09%, IT -0.19%

FTSE 100

BT (BT/A LN) – Saudi Telecom Company could make an approach to Patrick Drahi’s Altice UK which owns ~25% of BT, via The Times citing sources; Drahi reportedly paid an average of GBP 1.75/shr for his stake, so any offer would need to be “well over” GBP 2.00/shr. (The Times) Saudi Telecom Company took a 9.9% stake in Telefonica (TEF SM) in September, sparking rumours it was looking at the European sector.

Ex-Dividends - British American Tobacco (BATS LN), Halma (HLMA LN), and United Utilities (UU/ LN) will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend payout. (Newswires)

Gambling Names - UK Committee of Culture, Media & Sport has called on MPs to take a more precautionary approach in regulating the sector, calling for them to reduce the number of such ads at sports events. (FT)

Hikma (HIK LN) - Receives US FDA ANDA supplement 33 approval for BUPRENORPHINE HYDROCHOLORIDE. (Newswires)

UK Lloyds Business Barometer (Dec) 35 (Prev. 42); Own Price Expectations: 59 (Prev. 61). (Lloyds)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Asos (ASC LN) - Frasers group disclosed a reduction in stake to 17.9% (prev. 18.3%). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Admiral Group (ADM LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

DAX

Commerzbank (CBK GY) - Receives approval for up to EUR 600mln share buyback programme from ECB. (Newswires)

Fresenius SE (FRE GY) - Receives US FDA NDA supplement 25 approval for MORPHINE SULFATE. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Awarded EUR 1.7bln order for 16 military aircraft by the Spanish MoD. (Newswires)

AXA (CS FP) - Entered into a reinsurance agreement with AXA Reassurance Vie France; Expected to have immaterial one-off impact on net income. (Newswires)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - End of program evaluating tusamitamab ravtansine after a 2L NSCLC Phase 3 trial did not meet a primary endpoint. Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) found that tusamitamab ravtansine as a monotherapy did not meet its dual primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) compared to docetaxel. Sanofi will continue exploring the potential of antibody tusamitamab-based ADCs and CEACAM5 research in several types of cancer. (Sanofi)

Vinci (DG FP) - Awarded a commitment deed contract for a major PPP contract of high voltage transmission lines in Australia. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Accor (AC FP) - Signed EUR 1bln revolving banking credit facility through consortium of 13 banks. (Newswires)

Euronext (ENX FP) - CEO says unlikely to make another bid for Allfunds as it pursues acquisitions that can grow and diversify returns. Expects 64 listings in 2023 with a combined EUR 50bln market cap. (Newswires)

Valneva (VLA FP) - Shareholders approve EGM Resolutions including the transition of a board of directors. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Auto Names - Tesla (TSLA), Toyota (TM), Honda (7267 JT) sold vehicle emission credits in 2022; General Motors (GM), Stellantis (STLAM IM/ STLAP FP) and Mercedes-Benz (MBG GY) bought credits, via GVS citing EPA. (GVS)

Bankinter (BKT SM) - To propose Gloria Ortiz as CEO. (Newswires)

Chip Names - Micron Technology Inc (MU) - Q1 2024 (USD): Adj. EPS -0.95 (exp. -0.97), Revenue 4.726bln (exp. 4.64bln). MU shares rose 4.8% after-hours

EV Names - The Biden administration is reportedly mulling raising tariffs on some Chinese goods, including EVs, WSJ sources say, in an attempt to bolster US clean energy against cheaper Chinese exports. Other targets for potential tariff-rate increases are Chinese solar products and EV battery packs, sources added. Biden Admin is also considering lowering tariffs on some Chinese consumer products that officials do not see as strategically important, in addition to the potential increases on clean-energy products. Admin. has not yet decided on the tariffs. (WSJ)

EU Fiscal Policy - EU Finance Ministers reach an agreement on new fiscal rules, according to Bloomberg. Revamp will grant more leeway for national defence spending. Germany succeeded in introducing guardrails for debt reduction. (Bloomberg)

HSBC (HSBA LN) / BNP Paribas (BNP FP) - South Korea is said to seek fines on HSBC and BNP Paribas for naked short selling, according to Bloomberg

Telecom Names - Warburg Pincus and Antonio Horta-Osoria are reportedly working on a EUR 6bln+ bid for Altice’s Portuguese telecom assets, via FT citing sources. (FT)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Swisscom AG (SCMN SW) - To plan a bid for Vodafone's (VOD LN) Vodafone Italy early next year, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

VAT Group (VACN SW) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

SCANDINAVIA

Castellum (CAST SS) - Will not propose a dividend in 2023. (Newswires)

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Awarded a SEK 960mln order for the expansion of the emergency room in the US. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

BlackBerry (BB) - Q3 adj. EPS 0.01 (exp. -0.03), Q3 revenue USD 175mln (exp. 173.5mln). Exec noted particular strength in Automotive, and also a strong quarter for the Cybersecurity. Expects to reduce operating cashflow usage further in Q4. Sees Q4 sales between USD 150-159mln (exp. 200.4mln).

Hess (HES), Anadarko (OXY) and Shell (SHEL LN) - Reportedly the top auction winners of US gulf oil leases. The latest Gulf of Mexico oil and gas auction Wednesday saw more than two dozen companies submitting nearly USD 442mln worth of bids to lease tens of millions of acres for offshore drilling, The Advocate reports. Of that total, USD 382mln represented successful bids, Bureau of Energy Management officials said. The American Petroleum Institute said Wednesday's total was the highest for an offshore auction in nearly a decade. (Newswires)

Micron Technology Inc (MU) - Q1 2024 (USD): Adj. EPS -0.95 (exp. -0.97), Revenue 4.726bln (exp. 4.64bln). Q2 revenue view 5.1-5.5bln (exp. 5.03bln), EPS view -0.35 to -0.21 (exp. -0.62). Adj. FCF USD 1.4bln (exp. 1.25bln). Adj. op. expenses USD 992mln (exp. 952mln). Expects business fundamentals to improve throughout 2024 with record industry TAM projected for calendar year 2025. Says improved supply and demand environment in current quarter gives the co. additional confidence in the trajectory of their business. (Newswires) Co. shares rose 4.8% after-hours

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) - Reportedly in talks to merge with Paramount Global (PARA), according to Axios citing sources. (Axios)

Wells Fargo (WFC) - Wells Fargo workers in Albuquerque vote to form a union- a first for a megabank, according to WSJ; "Workers in three other branches have said they intend to hold votes. An Alaska branch is expected to vote Thursday." (WSJ)

21 Dec 2023 - 06:50- Fixed IncomeResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk