Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News

24th October 2023

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mixed following a similar lead from Wall Street with Mainland China leading the gains overnight. ASX 200 traded in the green with the upside led by Metals & Mining following the prior session’s gains in the complex, although gold names lag after the precious metal unwound some geopolitical risk premium after the weekend. Nikkei 225 gave up the 31k level in early trade as the prior day’s firming of the JPY weighed on the export-heavy index. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp opened mixed with the former playing catch-up following its long weekend, whilst the latter gained as reports also suggested US and China held the first working group meeting.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX +0.02% at 14,800.72, FTSE 100 -0.37% at 7,374.83, CAC 40 +0.50% at 6,850.47, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.41% at 4,041.15, IBEX 35 -0.37% at 8,995.50, FTSE MIB +0.74% at 27,558.78, SMI -0.15% at 10,333.20.

SECTORS: Consumer Disc 0.62%, IT 0.37%, Industrials 0.33%, Consumer Stpl -0.12%, Financials -0.12%, Utilities -0.36%, Telecoms -0.44%, Materials -0.46%, Energy -0.59%, Healthcare -0.61%

FTSE 100

Glencore (GLEN LN) - India's JSW Steel (JSTL IS) says "nothing concrete" in talks with Canada's Teck Resources (TECK). (Newswires) On Oct 5th, Teck Resources (TECK) CEO Price told the FT that the sale of its steelmaking coal arm is proceeding as planned despite doubts over the reported bid of Indian group JSW Steel (JSTL IS); said then that Co. would like to put a deal to shareholders before the end of the year.

Housing Names - UK Housing Minister Gove has reportedly informed backbenchers that the pledge to outlaw Section 21 (no-fault) evictions will not be enacted until sufficient progress has been made in reforming the court system, via Sky News citing a letter. (Sky News)

UK Firms - Voluntary Living Wage is to increase by 10%, taking it to GBP 12 across the UK and GBP 13.15 in London. (Sky News)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Travis Perkins (TPK LN) downgraded to Add from Buy at AlphaValue

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Talanx (TLX GY) - Co. raises FY23 net guidance to "significantly exceed EUR 1.5bln" (prev. "above EUR 1.4bln). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Co. and Northrop Grumman (NOC) sign strategic partnership in UK military satellite communications bid. (Newswires)

Orange (ORA FP) - Q3 (EUR): Revenue 10.99bln (exp. 10.99bln), EBITDAaL 3.59bln (exp. 3.59bln), adj. CAPEX 1.59bln (exp. 1.64bln). Confirms FY23 objectives & interim cash dividend payment of 0.30/shr. Re. Masmovil, expects approval for transaction towards end-2023 and finalisation in Q1-2024. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Eurofins Scientific (ERF FP) - Q3 (EUR): Revenue 4.8bln (exp. 5.03bln). Confirms FY23-FY27 objectives. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Auto Names - French government is reportedly mulling EV subsidies of up to EUR 13,000 for leased EVs. (Les Echos)

EV/Chip Names - Japan aims to set shared standards with the US and Europe on subsidies for electric vehicles, semiconductors and other critical fields, according to Nikkei citing the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. (Nikkei)

Juventus (JUVE IM) - Board approved a EUR 200mln capital raise and a 1-10 reverse stock split. (Newswires)

Randstad (RAND NA) - Q3 (EUR): adj. EBITA 273mln (exp. 258mln), Gross Margin 20.6% (exp. 20.6%). Outlook: early-October trends broadly in-line with Q3. Will be a negative 0.5 working day impact in Q4. (Newswires)

Snam (SRG IM) CEO said Italy's LNG import capacity will cover up to 40% of total gas consumption with new LNG terminal in Ravenna. (Newswires)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Co. said it is outraged UAW has chosen to expand its strike. (Newswires)

UniCredit (UCG IM) - Q3 (EUR): Revenue 5.97bln (exp. 5.72bln). Net Income 2.32bln (exp. 1.96bln), NII 3.60bln (prev. 3.46bln). Loan-loss provisions 135mln (exp. 301.2mln). Co. raises FY revenue and Net Interest Income guidance. Sees FY23 net revenue at EUR 22.2bln (prev. "above 21.5bln). Will not pay Italy windfall tax, opting for a get-out clause. (Newswires)

Wind Power Names - EU still lacks "very clear evidence" of unfair practices to launch a formal probe into China's wind power industry, according to Reuters sources. (Reuters)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Logitech (LOGN SW) - Q2 (EUR): Revenue 1.06bln (exp. 0.98bln); EPS 1.09 (exp. 0.66); Co. raises its FY24 revenue guidance to 4.0-4.15bln (prev. 3.8-4.0bln). Raises FY24 operating profit guidance to 525-575mln (prev. 400-500mln). CEO said "We remain cautiously optimistic on the balance of the year and are pleased to raise the annual outlook.” (Logitech)

Novartis (NOVN SW) Q3 (USD): Sales 11.78bln (exp. 11.77bln), core EPS 1.74 (exp. 1.73), Operating Income 4.4bln (exp. 4.42bln). Lifts FY guidance for core operating income, based on strong momentum; net sales expected to grow high single digit. In connection with the Sandoz spin-off, Co. will report in Q4 results a one-time non-cash non-taxable IFRS gain of circa. 5.9bln. (Newswires)

Sandoz (SDZ SW) - 9-month (USD): Net Sales 7.1bln, +6%. Solid performance in generics, biosimilars grow double-digits. Sales growth primarily driven by Europe. FY23 guidance confirmed. Expects to pay a FY dividend of 20-30%, based on FY core net income. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Dufry (DUFN SW) - Dufry, soon to be Avolta, announces strategic partnership with Hubei Airport Group as master concessionaire at Wuhan Tianhe Airport’s Terminal 2. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

DSV (DSV DC) - Q3 (DKK): Revenue 35.57bln (exp. 28.86bln), adj. EBIT 4.4bln (exp. 4.4bln), adj. Net Income 2.86bln (exp. 3.2bln). FY Outlook: adj. EBIT 17.5-18.5bln (exp. 18.03bln, prev. guided 17.0-18.5bln). Elsewhere, NEOM and DSV establish a USD 10bln logistics JV, not expected to have an material financial impact in FY23. (Newswires)

Norsk Hydro (NHY NO) - Q3 (NOK): Revenue 44.7bln (exp. 46.4bln), adj. EBITDA 3.89bln (exp. 4.04bln), adj. EBIT 1.6bln (exp. 1.85bln). Chinese demand stronger than expected on strong demand in renewables and EV segments. Demand for primary aluminium continued to decline into Q3, automotive demand more stable. Improvement program progressed significantly in quarter, commercial ambitions ahead of target. Elsewhere, Macquarie Asset Management intends to invest equity of USD 332mln to obtain a 49.9% stake of Hydro Rein. (Newswires)

Northvolt - Co. is reportedly looking to list in Sweden over other venues and has invited investment banks to pitch formally on the deal which could value them at circa. USD 20bln, via FT citing sources. (FT)

Stora Enso (STERV FH) - Q3 (EUR): Sales 2.12bln (exp. 2.33bln), EBIT 21mln (exp. 0mln), Net Income -34mln (exp. -28mln), PBT -41mln (exp. -65mln). Face a continued subdued market outlook for remainder of 2023 and into 2024. Weak global growth and high inflation weigh on performance. Expect no market improvement in Q4. Destocking expected to come to an end in some divisions, may support a slight recovery in such areas in 2024. Strategic initiative progressing according to plan. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.17% at 4,217, NDX +0.30% at 14,605, DJI -0.58% at 32,936, RUT -0.89% at 1,666.

SECTORS: Communication Services +0.72%, Technology +0.42%, Consumer Discretionary +0.21%, Consumer Staples -0.27%, Industrials -0.47%, Health -0.63%, Financials -0.71%, Utilities -0.82%, Real Estate -0.84%, Materials -1.07%, Energy -1.62%.

NVIDIA (NVDA) - Co. reportedly plans to enter PC chip market with Arm (ARM) based CPU chip as early as 2025, according to Reuters citing sources; AMD (AMD) also plans to enter the Arm-based CPU chip market; both in a major new challenge to Intel (INTC). Microsoft (MSFT) has encouraged chip firms to focus on powering new AI features in Windows. (Newswires)

24 Oct 2023 - 06:45- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk