Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 24th November 2023

24th November 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks traded mixed in the absence of a lead from Wall St owing to the Thanksgiving holiday and as markets headed into the start of the temporary Israel-Hamas truce. ASX 200 (+0.2%) was led higher by strength in utilities, financials and the energy sector albeit with gains capped by tech weakness and after an Australian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait which risks stoking frictions between Australia and its largest trading partner. Nikkei 225 (+0.5%) outperformed on return from its holiday closure as participants digested data releases including national CPI which printed softer than expected although mostly accelerated from the previous month. Hang Seng (-1.4%) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.7%) were pressured despite the lack of obvious catalysts, while PBoC liquidity efforts and news that China is mulling unprecedented support for the property sector by allowing banks to offer unsecured short-term loans to qualified developers have failed to support the risk tone.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX +0.23% at 15,994.73, FTSE 100 +0.19% at 7,483.58, CAC 40 +0.24% at 7,277.93, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.22% at 4,361.45, IBEX 35 +0.18% at 9,905.50, FTSE MIB +0.28% at 29,235.71, SMI +0.18% at 10,851.62.

SECTORS: Energy 1.54%, Healthcare 0.70%, Financials 0.45%, Materials 0.17%, Industrials 0.17%, Utilities 0.14%, IT 0.01%, Telecoms -0.09%, Consumer Disc -0.11%, Consumer Stpl -0.16%

FTSE 100

Barclays (BARC LN) - Working on GBP 1bln cost savings plan which could involve up to 2k job cuts, according to Reuters source. (Reuters) Do note this story came out at 16:22 on 23rd November 2023, which led to marginal upside before the cash close.

Barclays (BARC LN)/Lloyds (LLOY LN) - Abu Dhabi's al-Jaber is set to take charge at the Telegraph, according to The Times. (The Times)

Vodafone (VOD LN) - Swisscom's (SCMN SW) Fastweb is exploring a deal for Vodafone's Italian unit, according to Bloomberg citing sources. Vodafone rejected a EUR 11.25bln bid for the unit last year. (Bloomberg)

UK Firms - Ministers told the CMA to support businesses, economic growth and speed up the decision making process, according to The Times. (The Times)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

BASF (BAS GY) - ADNOC is exploring a potential acquisition of Wintershell Dea, a European energy unit, backed by BASF. A deal could be valued at more than USD 11bln, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. (Bloomberg) Shares seen +1.8% in pre-market trade

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Continental (CON GY) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

Evonik Industries (EVK GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

Fresenius Medical Care (FME GY) upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC

Porsche (POR3 GY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

Mercedes-Benz (MBG GY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Forvia (EO FP) upgraded to Overweight from Underweight at Barclays

Michelin (ML FP) downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at Barclays

PAN EUROPE

Elia (ELI BB) - Raises FY23 Adj. ROE "upper range of 6-7%" (prev. 6-7%). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Endesa (ELE SM) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Axfood (AXFO SS) - Reaffirms financial targets. (Newswires)

Kongsberg Gruppen (KOG NO) - Defence unit to develop new "Super Missile" with Norway and Germany. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

Nvidia (NVDA) - Told customers it is delaying the launch of China-targeted H20 AI chip until Q1 2024 with the delay due to issues server manufacturers are having integrating the H20 chip, according to Reuters sources. (Reuters)

24 Nov 2023 - 06:48- EquitiesData- Source: Newsquawk