Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 23rd 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 head into the weekend mixed after the region partially shrugged off the early headwinds from the US where sentiment was spooked by reports that President Biden plans to hike capital gains tax to as much as 43.4% from the current top rate of 23.8%, which pressured the major indices and dragged all sectors in the red. Asian bourses suffered from early spillover selling although losses in the ASX 200 (-0.2%) were stemmed as telecoms remained afloat following the outcome of the 5G spectrum auction in which the top 3 telcos spent over AUD 600mln and with the largest-weighted financials sector cushioned by gains in AMP on plans for a demerger and listing of AMP Capital's private markets investment management business. Nikkei 225 (-0.8%) underperformed due to recent currency inflows and as participants brace for a return to a state of emergency with the government seeking an emergency declaration for Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo between April 25th-May 11th and wants to significantly reduce the flow of people with stricter measures such as asking certain businesses to close including establishments that serve alcohol. Hang Seng (+1.0%) and Shanghai Comp. (+0.1%) were positive amid strength in Chinese tech names and with focus shifting to earnings whereby Ping An Insurance benefitted from profit growth for Q1, while CNOOC was less decisive despite a 4.7% Y/Y increase in its Q1 total net production.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: EURO STOXX 50 +0.96% at 4,014; FTSE 100 +0.58% at 6,935; DAX +0.89% at 15,331; CAC 40 +0.96% at 6,270; IBEX 35 +1.42% at 8,641; FTSE MIB +0.87% at 24,372; SMI +0.14% at 11,224

SECTORS: Utilities +2.15%, IT +2.04%, Consumer Stpl +1.07%, Industrials +1.07%, Consumer Disc +0.84%, Telecoms +0.25%, Healthcare -0.01%, Financials -0.12%, Materials -0.14%, Energy -0.22%

FTSE 100

BAE Systems (BAE LN) – Investment Association, the voting advisory service, has reportedly initiated a red-top alert to the proposed share award for CEO Woodburn according to sources. (FT) Thus far, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services have recommended opposing this award

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK LN) - FDA grants accelerated approval for GSK’s JEMPERLI for women with recurrent or advanced dMMR endometrial cancer. (GSK)

Pearson (PSON LN) – Chairman Taurel will step down by the 2022 AGM at the latest. (Newswires) Follows calls for his departure, particularly due to the handling of the appointment of new CEO Bird

OTHER UK COMPANIES

FirstGroup (FGP LN) – Co. is to sell First Student and First Transit US operations to EQT Infrastructure for an enterprise value of GBP 3.3bln. GBP 2.19bln in net proceeds from the deal, proposing a GBP 0.30/shr shareholder return this year, the potential for further distributions. FY21 adj. operating profit forecast to be above expectations. (Newswires) Follows pre-market reports via Sky News to this effect*   

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Daimler (DAI GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 41.017bln vs exp. EUR 40.183bln. EBIT EUR 5.7bln vs exp. EUR 4.953bln. Net profit EUR 4.4bln vs prev. EUR 200mln. Unit sales, revenue and EBIT expected to be significantly higher in 2021 than in previous year. Co. raises FY21 margin targets due to the firm Q1 performance. Co. said the worldwide car market grew significantly compared with its volume of the previous year. The revenue of the Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans division increased due in particular to a significant increase in unit sales in China by 16%. Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans revenue EUR 26.886bln vs exp. EUR 27.287bln. Daimler Trucks & Buses revenue EUR 8.665bln vs exp. EUR 8.924bln. Daimler mobility EUR 6.966bln vs prev. EUR 7.101bln. The current worldwide shortage of supply in certain semiconductor components affected deliveries in the first quarter and could further impact sales in the second quarter. In terms of full year sales, it is currently anticipated that lost volumes can be partly recovered by the end of the year. (Daimler)

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Co. suspends operations at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant amid the chip shortage. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Delta Airlines (DAL) has expanded its A321Neo narrowbody fleet by exercising 25 purchase rights. (Newswires)

French Cos - French PM Castex said schools will reopen next week as planned and the government will lift domestic travel restrictions on May 3rd. France will also mull whether to open some businesses around mid-May, on a regional basis, with the decisions due in the upcoming days. (Newswires)

Remy Cointreau (RCO FP) - FY20/21 revenue EUR 1.01bln vs prev. EUR 1.02bln Y/Y. Organic revenue +1.8% Y/Y. Cognac sales +3.7%. Liqueurs -3.2%. Co. expects a strong start to FY21/22. (Newswires)

Vinci (DG FP) - Q1 revenue EUR 10.2bln vs exp. EUR 9.3bln. Co affirms FY21 as "very close to prior year". Energies +7% Y/Y. Construction (including Eurovia) +10% Y/Y. Autoroutes 0% Y/Y. Airports -70% Y/Y. (Newswires)

Vivendi (VIV FP) Q1 revenue EUR 3.90bln vs exp. EUR 3.50bln. Universal Music Group revenue EUR 1.81bln, +9.4% Y/Y. Editis revnue +40.1% Y/Y. Organic revenue +5% Y/Y. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Bollore (BOL FP) - Q1 revenue EUR 6.10bln vs prev. EUR 5.77bln. Organic revenue +5% Y/Y. (Newswires)

Bureau Veritas (BVI FP) - Q1 revenue EUR 1.15bln vs exp. EUR 1.10bln. Co. affirms FY21 guidance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Chip Names - Please refer to Intel (INTC) earnings in the US section below.

Moncler (MONC IM) - Q1 sales EUR 365.5mln vs exp. EUR 361mln, +21% Y/Y at constant FX rates, Retail revenues +22%. Moncler said revenues grew by double digits in Q1 due to strong contribution, particularly China, Korea and North America. Co. said sales to Chinese customers are close to pre-pandemic levels and the lack of tourists has been totally offset by local purchases; sees price rises in H2 in some regions. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

UMICORE (UMI BB) UPGRADED TO ACCUMULATE FROM HOLD AT KBC

SMI

LafargeHolcim (LHN SW) - Q1 sales CHF 5.36bln vs exp. CHF 5.6bln. Recurring EBIT CHF 5.28mln. Co. states that its 2022 targets are to be met one year in advance. (Newswires)

Roche (ROG SW) - Roche receives FDA approval for first companion diagnostic to identify endometrial cancer patients eligible for immunotherapy. (Roche)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Essity (ESSITYB SS) - Q1 net SEK 2.49bln vs prev. SEK 3.6bln. Revenue SEK 27.5bln vs prev. SEK 33.78bln. Co. says working capital is to decrease by over SEK 1bln. (Newswires)

Saab (SAABB SS) - Q1 net SEK 392mln vs exp. SEK 292mln. Operating profit SEK 596mln vs prev. SEK 560mln. Revenue SEK 9.09bln vs prev. SEK 8.04bln. Order bookings SEK 5.9bln vs prev. SEK 4.8bln. EBITDA margin 11.7% vs prev. 11.4%. (Newswires)

Telenor (TEL NO) - Co's Digi unit reports Q1 revenue NOK 3.2bln vs prev. NOK 3.54bln. EBITDA NOK 3.1.5bln vs prev. NOK 1.72bln. (Newswires)

Telia (TELIA SS) - Q1 revenue SEK 21.8bln vs exp. SEK 21.7bln. Adj. EBITDA SEK 7.25bln vs exp. SEK 7.2bln. Co. affirms its outlook. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

DANSKE BANK (DANSKE DC) UPGRADED TO EQUAL WEIGHT FROM UNDERWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY

US

Intel (INTC) - Q1 2021 (USD): Adj. EPS 1.39 (exp. 1.15); Revenue 19.7bln (exp. 17.86bln). Client Computing Group: 10.6bln (exp. 10.09bln). Data Center Group (Dcg): 5.6bln (exp. 5.68bln). Internet Of Things Group: 914mln (exp. 994.33mln). Mobileye: 377mln (exp. 381.50mln). Non-Volatility Memory Solutions: 1.1bln (exp. 1.14bln). Programmable Solutions Group: 486mln (exp. 419.33mln). FY EPS view 4.60 (exp. 4.58), Revenue view 77.0bln (exp. 72.44bln). Sees Q2 EPS USD 1.05 (exp. USD 1.11), Q2 Revenue 18.9bln (exp. 17.6bln). Co. executive said it will take a couple of years to invest enough to ease chip supply constraints. Shares fell 2% after-hours with traders citing the falling profit margins and rising capital spending.

CLOSES: SPX -0.90% at 4,136, NDX -1.24% at 13,762, DJIA -0.94% at 33,816, R2K -0.44% at 2,228

SECTORS: REAL ESTATE -0.38%, HEALTH -0.43%, INDUSTRIALS -0.47%, COMMUNICATION SVS -0.66%, UTILITIES -0.69%, CONS STPL -0.85%, FINANCIALS -1.11%, CONS DISC -1.16%, TECHNOLOGY -1.18%, ENERGY -1.41%, MATERIALS -1.75%

23 Apr 2021 - 06:52- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk