Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 22nd November 2023

22nd November 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks were mixed following the weak handover from the US where sentiment was dampened amid soft data and pre-Thanksgiving positioning, while the latest FOMC minutes were uneventful and had little effect on price action. Furthermore, participants digested geopolitical developments including North Korea’s satellite launch and the agreement between Israel and Hamas for a four-day pause of the fighting in Gaza and a hostages-prisoners swap. ASX 200 (-0.1%) was rangebound as losses in tech and consumer sectors were counterbalanced by resilience in defensives, while Westpac Leading Index also showed a slight contraction. Nikkei 225 (+0.4%) was the outperformer and clawed back initial losses shortly after the open despite the government cutting its view on the overall economy for the first time since January. KOSPI (-0.4%) was pressured following the satellite launch by North Korea which plans to launch additional spy satellites. Hang Seng (+0.2%) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.1%) were cautious with price action rangebound amid a lack of fresh macro drivers from China although the Hong Kong benchmark was underpinned by strength in Baidu post-earnings.

Japanese Stocks - UBS expects Japan's cheaply valued stocks to outperform into 2024 amid a revival in domestic economic growth and gradual monetary policy tightening, via Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX -0.01% at 15,900.53, FTSE 100 -0.19% at 7,481.99, CAC 40 -0.24% at 7,229.45, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.24% at 4,331.95, IBEX 35 -0.12% at 9,827.50, FTSE MIB -1.32% at 29,153.42, SMI +0.46% at 10,789.40.

SECTORS: Consumer Stpl 1.03%, Healthcare 0.48%, Materials 0.23%, Industrials 0.10%, Financials -0.20%, Telecoms -0.27%, Utilities -0.36%, Energy -0.48%, IT -0.66%, Consumer Disc -0.85%

FTSE 100

Barclays (BARC LN)/Lloyds (LLOY LN) - Sir Paul Marshall has launched a late bid for the Telegraph, to finance the Barclay family's GBP 1.2bln debt, via The Times. (The Times)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

HSBC (HSBA LN) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

Howden Joinery (HWDN LN) initiated with Buy at Jefferies

DAX

Bayer (BAYN GY) - Receives US FDA NDA supplement-4 approval for Astepro allergy. (Newswires)

Deutsche Bank (DBK GY) – Co’s DB Direkt call centres could be subject to further strike action if wage talks on Wednesday are not successful. (FT)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Fresenius Medical (FME GY) - Announces favourable settlement agreement with the US Government and positive earnings impact of circa EUR 175mln; now expects FY23 operating income +12-14% Y/Y (prev. low-single-digit percentage rate). (Newswires)

ThyssenKrupp (TKA GY) - FY (EUR): Net -2.0bln (prev. +1.21bln Y/Y), Adj. EBIT 703mln (exp. 669mln), Revenue 37.5bln (exp. 37.6bln); Makes EUR 2.1bln steel unit impairment loss for FY22/23, due to "gloomy" earnings expectations in the short, medium and long term. Guidance: Revenue to rise slightly 37.6bln Y/Y (exp. 36.2bln). Proposed dividend of 0.15/shr. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Kion (KGX GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

Hugo Boss (BOSS GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank

CAC

TotalEnergies (TTE FP) - Port Arthur, Texas refinery (185k BPD) is restarting its gasoline-producing FCC, with a small crude unit remaining shut until it has restarted, according to Reuters sources. (Reuters)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Casino (CO FP) – FY23 Guidance Update: adj. EBITDA -78mln to -140mln. Recovery in supermarket traffic and volumes is ongoing; traffic +10% and volumes +7% in W/W. end-2028: FCF 271mln (prev. guided 175mln). (Newswires)

Elior (ELIOR FP) – FY (EUR): Revenue 5.22bln (exp. 5.12bln), adj. EBITA 59mln (prev. -48mln), Net -93mln (prev. -427mln), EBITDA 206mln (exp. 208mln). Outlook: remains focused on two business lines. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SocGen (GLE FP) downgraded to Add from Buy at AlphaValue

PAN EUROPE

ageas (AGS BB) - Guides 2023 Net Op. result in the upper-end of the EUR 1.1-1.2bln range. (Newswires)

Enel (ENEL IM) - To divest Peruvian Generation assets for USD 1.4bln. Guidance (EUR): Adjusts FY24 Net 6.6-6.8bln (prev. guidance 6.7-6.9bln), EBITDA 21.5-22.5bln (prev. guidance 21.0-21.6bln). Transactions are expected to reduce Co's consolidated net debt of EUR 1.6bln between 2023-24 and positive impact on group net income in 2024 of EUR 60mln. Transaction expected to bear no impact on Co's ordinary economic results. (Newswires)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Considers EV manufacturing at the Malaysia plant, via Business Times. (Business Times)

BROKER MOVES

Aperam (APAM NA) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

Inmobiliaria Colonial (COL SM) initiated with Hold at Deutsche Bank

Merlin Properties (MRL SM) initiated with Buy at Deutsche Bank

Prysmian (PRY IM) initiated with Neutral at Oddo

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Helvetia (HELN SW) - Updates on impact of summer storms, sees Q3 burden of CHF 200mln and affirms dividend plan. (Newswires)

SIG (SIGN SW) - Targets mid-term adj. EBITDA > 27%. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

DKSH (DKSH SW) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Hong Leong

Givaudan (GIVN SW) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Schindler Holding (SCHN SW) upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC

SCANDINAVIA

A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKB DC) – Signed a landmark green methanol offtake agreement, to take delivery of the first large ocean-going methanol-enabled vessel in Q1-24. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Outokumpu (OUT1V FH) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.20% at 4,538, NDX -0.58% at 15,933, DJIA -0.18% at 35,088, RUT -1.32% at 1,783.

SECTORS: Technology -0.83%, Real Estate -0.47%, Consumer Discretionary -0.38%, Energy -0.21%, Industrials -0.05%, Financials -0.04%, Communication Services -0.01%, Utilities +0.22%, Consumer Staples +0.35%, Materials +0.4%, Health +0.61%.

Autodesk Inc (ADSK) - Q3 2024 (USD): Adj. EPS 2.07 (exp. 1.99), Revenue 1.40bln (exp. 1.39bln), Adj. operating margin 39% (exp. 37.3%). Q4 GUIDANCE: Adj. EPS 1.91-1.97 (exp. 2.02). Revenue 1.42-1.44bln (exp. 1.43bln). FY24 GUIDANCE: Raised adj. EPS view to 7.43-7.49 (prev. 7.30-7.49, exp. 7.46). Raised revenue view to 5.45-5.47bln (prev. 5.41-5.46bln, exp. 5.43bln). FCF 1.20-1.26bln (prev. 1.17-1.25bln, exp. 1.22bln). Billings 5.08-5.18bln (exp. 4.98bln). (Newswires)

HP Inc (HPQ) - Q4 2023 (USD): Adj. EPS 0.90 (exp. 0.90), Revenue 13.80bln (exp. 13.85bln). Sees Q1 2024 Adj. EPS USD 0.76-0.86 (exp. 0.85). Sees FY24 Adj. EPS USD 3.25-3.65 (exp. 3.47). Sees FY24 free cash flow USD 3.1bln-3.6bln (exp. 3.23bln). (Newswires)

Nvidia (NVDA) - The chipmaker settled 1.75% lower after hours after initially falling as much as 6.3%; its Q3 results topped expectations, though it warned China sales would decline in Q4; Bloomberg suggested that the results "failed to satisfy the loftier expectations of shareholders who have bet heavily on an artificial intelligence boom." Q3 adj. EPS 4.02 (exp. 3.37), Q3 revenue USD 18.12bln (exp. 16.18bln). Data centre sales were USD 14.51bln (exp. 12.82bln), gaming revenue USD 2.86bln (exp. 2.7bln), professional visualization USD 416mln (exp. 409.2mln), and automotive sales of USD 261mln (exp. 266.9mln). Exec said the era of generative AI is taking off; licensing requirements did not have a meaningful impact on Q3 revenue; expects sales to China to decline significantly in Q4, but that decline will be offset by growth in other regions. Exec added that it was monitoring the impact of the geopolitical conflict in and around Israel on operations. Sees Q4 revenue at around 20bln, +-2% (exp. 17.9bln). Shares seen -1.7% in after-hour trade

22 Nov 2023 - 06:52- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk