Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 22nd 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

Asia-Pac stocks traded mixed as the region struggled to maintain the momentum from the US where the major indices snapped a 2-day losing streak led by advances in small caps which resulted in the Russell 2000 finishing higher by more than 2%, and cyclicals were also favoured with materials, energy, financials and industrials the outperformers in the S&P 500. ASX 200 (+0.6%) was marginally higher with the index kept afloat by strength in gold miners and real estate although gains were capped amid China-related tensions after Australia cancelled the Victoria State MOU and framework agreement with China regarding the Silk Road economic belt that was signed in 2018, while China was said to strongly oppose the cancellation and warned that the action is bound to further deteriorate bilateral relations. Nikkei 225 (+2.1%) outperformed and reclaimed the 29k level with the index largely unfazed by a mixed currency and potential state of emergency declarations for four prefectures which the government will reportedly decide on this Friday. Hang Seng (+0.3%) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.1%) both initially opened higher but then briefly pared all their gains amid ongoing concerns of tighter regulation and continued overhang from US-China tension after the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee backed the Strategic Competition Act of 2021 to send the bill to a full vote at the Senate, while a bipartisan group of lawmakers also proposed legislation calling for USD 100bln in science funding to keep US competitive with China and other nations.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: EUROPEAN PRELIMINARY CASH EQUITY CLOSES: EURO STOXX 50 +0.92% AT 3,977; FTSE 100 +0.62% AT 6,903; DAX +0.45% AT 15,198; CAC 40 +0.82% AT 6,216; IBEX 35 +0.81% AT 8,528; FTSE MIB +0.24% AT 24,148; SMI +1.21% AT 11,213

SECTORS: IT +2.14%, Healthcare +1.66%, Consumer Stpl +1.12%, Consumer Disc +1.03%, Energy +0.79%, Materials +0.69%, Telecoms +0.46%, Industrials +0.25%, Utilities -0.65%, Financials -0.86%

FTSE 100

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) - EU is said to be getting ready to launch legal proceedings against AstraZeneca over complaints it massively failed to deliver pledged doses to the bloc. (Politico)

Carnival's (CCL LN) - Seabourn partners with Barbados to launch Summer luxury cruises from July 2021. (Newswires)

Hikma (HIK LN) - Co. has resumed the launch of a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK LN) Advair inhaler following the completion of an FDA review. (Times)

Ryanair (RYA LN) - CEO O'Leary expects business travel to make a full recovery by 2022 unless the situation unexpectedly deteriorates. (FT)

UK Travel Names - UK COVID-19 vaccine passports are to be released as early as next month with UK Department of Transport wanting an official certification scheme in place by May 17th, while the report added that the European Medical Agency recommended fully vaccinated travellers should be able to avoid tests and quarantines. (Telegraph) Almost 60% of surveyed UK adults expect to fly less or much less in the future even after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination, according to research by the University of Bristol. (Sky News)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Aggreko (AGK LN) - Liontrust Asset Management, with a 12% stake in the Co., is reportedly intending to oppose the GBP 2.3bln takeover deal by a consortium involving TDR and I Squared, according to sources. Several other shareholders reportedly have doubts over the deals pricing. (Sky News)

BROKER MOVES

DAX

SAP (SAP GY) - Co. confirms Q1 prelim figures. Current Cloud Backlog +43% Y/Y. Non-IFRS EPS +63%. FCF +10% to EUR 2.85bln. SAP saw a sharp acceleration in new cloud business across its cloud portfolio. SAP proposed a dividend of EUR 1.85/shr for fiscal year 2020, +17% Y/Y (SAP) Shares are seen opening higher by 1.5%

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Accor (AC FP) - Q1 revenue EUR 361mln vs exp. EUR 387mln. RevPAR -64.3% Y/Y, Revenue LFL -48% Y/Y. Co. says monthly cash burn is below EUR 40mln. (Newswires)

Orange (ORA FP) - Q1 revenue EUR 10.32bln vs prev. EUR 10.27bln Y/Y. EBITDAAL EUR 2.57bln vs prev. EUR 2.57bln. Q1 eCapEx EUR 1.76bln vs prev. EUR 1.57bln. Co. maintains FY21 guidance. Co. proposes FY dividend of EUR 0.7/shr. (Newswires)

Pernod Ricard (RI FP) – 9-month sales EUR 6.94bln, -3.7% decline due to an unfavourable FX impact; for FY21 expect an unfavourable FX impact of EUR 250mln. Q3 growth +19.0% vs exp. +11.3%. Q3 organic sales growth: Europe +5%, Americas +10%, APAC/rest of world +36%. Anticipates a sales acceleration in Q4. (Newswires)

Renault (RNO FP) - Q1 revenue EUR 10bln vs exp. EUR 10.14bln. Group global sales +1.1% at 665k vehicles in Q1. Total inventory -26% at end-March. Co. says it has a comfortable liquidity position by the impact of the pandemic is not behind us. Co. sees rising headwinds from FX and raw material prices. Co. says there is limited visibility due to the chip shortage. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Edenred (EDEN FP) – Q1 revenue EUR 373mln vs prev. EUR 395mln, operating revenue EUR 363mln vs prev. EUR 383mln. Confirms FY21 EBITDA guidance. Notes the situation remains difficult in several major nations including Brazil and France. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Auto Names - Ford (F) - Co. will take six further down days at Craiova on April 29th between May 10th-14th, due to the chip shortage in Europe. (Newswires)

Umicore (UMI BB) - Co. says it is poised for an outstanding performance in 2021. Co. sees adj. EBIT approaching EUR 1bln and expects earnings to be well above prior year. (Newswire)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Credit Suisse (CSGN SW) - Q1 net profit CHF -252mln vs exp. CHF -760mln. Revenue CHF 7.574bln vs prev. CHF 5.776bln. Co. says Q1 results have been significantly impacted by a CHF 4.4bln charge related to a US hedge fund. Co. estimates around a CHF 600mln impact from Archegos Capital fallout in Q2 with 97% of related positions now exited. Overall, Co. expects market volumes to return to lower, and more normal, levels in the coming quarters. In Wealth Management, Co. anticipates broadly stable net interest income, and improving recurring commissions and fees benefiting from higher levels of AuM. For the Investment Bank, Co. forecasts the second quarter to reflect a slowdown in market activity, as well as the adverse impact from the US-based hedge fund matters. (Credit Suisse/Newswires) In related news, reports yesterday suggested that the Co's exposure to Archegos investments reportedly increased to above USD 20bln, according to WSJ. (WSJ) Meanwhile, Swiss watchdog FINMA has opened proceedings in the Archegos case and have confirmed ongoing proceedings in the Greensill case. (Newswires) US SEC is reportedly examining disclosure rules following the Archegos blow-up. (Newswires/WSJ)

Nestle (NESN SW) - Q1 revenue CHF 21.1bln vs exp. CHF 20.3bln. Organic growth 7.7% vs exp. 3.4%. Growth was broad-based across most geographies. Co. affirms its outlook. Co. sees a continued increase in organic sales growth towards a mid single-digit rate. Co. guides underlying trading operating profit margin with continued moderate improvement. co. expects underlying EPS in constant currency and capital efficiency expected to increase. (Nestle)

Roche (ROG SW) – Almost 83% of GenMark Diagnostics' shares have been tendered in a USD 1.8bln takeover offer by Roche. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Lundbeck (LUN DC) – Vortioxetine significantly improves the overall function in global real-world study of major depressive disorder, a significant improvement over 3-months and a further improvement at 6-months. Study met exploratory and secondary endpoints. (Newswires)

Tele2 (TEL2B SS) – Q1 revenue SEK 6.6bln vs exp. SEK 6.5bln, EBITDAL SEK 2.3bln vs prev. SEK 2.2bln, EBT SEK 1.1bln vs prev. SEK 1.0bln. FY21 outlook: group end user-service revenue to be flat vs 2020, EBITDAL growth of 2-4%. SEK 2.8-3.3bln in annual capex, ex-spectrum/asset leasing, over the mid-term during the 5G roll out. (Newswires)

Volvo (VOLVB SS) - Q1 Adj. operating profit SEK 11.8bln vs prev. SEK 7.14bln. Revenue SEK 94.0bln vs prev. SEK 91.4bln. Adj. operating margin 10.6% vs prev. 3.6%. Truck deliveries 52.4k vs prev. 44.8k. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

Apple (AAPL) - Co. is to expand its advertising business, according to sources, will be adding a second advertising slot in the App Store in the 'suggested' apps page by month-end. Allowing promotion across the entire App Store rather than in response to specific searches, as is currently the case. (FT)

CLOSES: SPX +0.90% AT 4,172, NDX +0.91% AT 13,935, DJIA +0.93% AT 34,137, R2K +2.31% AT 2,238

SECTORS: MATERIALS +1.87%, ENERGY 1.48%, FINANCIALS 1.39%, INDUSTRIALS +1.36%, CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY +1.29%, HEALTH +1.14%, TECHNOLOGY +1.02%, CONSUMER STAPLES +0.46%, REAL ESTATE +0.4%, COMMUNICATION SVS. -0.28%, UTILITIES -0.9%

22 Apr 2021 - 06:55- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk