Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 25th June 2024

25th June 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks were mostly positive but with some of the gains capped following the mixed lead from Wall St where tech underperformed amid Nvidia's continued retreat from last week's record high into correction territory. ASX 200 outperformed with energy and real estate leading the advances amid broad optimism across sectors. Nikkei 225 shrugged off the initial indecision and gradually reverted to above the psychological 39,000 level. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. were mixed in which the Hong Kong benchmark advanced as strength in consumer and property stocks atoned for the slack seen in some tech names, while the mainland lagged despite the PBoC's liquidity boost with headwinds from US-China frictions as the Biden administration probes Chinese telcos. Furthermore, Premier Li flagged weak global economic momentum during his WEF address in Dalian.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.99% at 18,343, CAC 40: +1.03% at 7,707, PSI: +0.31% at 6,591, FTSE 100: +0.53% at 8,282, IBEX 35: +1.27% at 11,172, FTSE MIB: +1.58% at 33,835, SMI: +1.23% at 12,161, Euro Stoxx 50: +0.84% at 4,948.

SECTORS: Financials 1.29%, Telecoms 1.09%, Industrials 0.84%, Consumer Disc 0.84%, Energy 0.80%, Healthcare 0.75%, Materials 0.74%, Consumer Stpl 0.61%, Utilities 0.19%, IT -0.88%

FTSE 100

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL/ LN) - Lancaster Management writes a letter saying that it remains unconvinced that the offer is fair for all HL shareholders. It urges that the Hargreaves board to give itself more time to assess strategic options. (Newswires/Telegraph) Follows: last week, Hargreaves Lansdown (HG/ LN) confirmed it received a further non-binding proposal from a consortium led by CVC; the proposed deal is for 1,140p per share in cash, Co. said it was open to engage with the buyout consortium and was ready to recommend the bid

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Evotec (EVT GY) - Evotec Biologics selected by the US DoD for manufacturing optimisation; contract is for up to USD 39mln. (Newswires)

Merck (MRK GY) - Merck ceased the Phase III TrilynX study for xevinapant in unresected locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck due to unlikely efficacy in extending event-free survival, despite compatible safety data. Merck KHaA will review findings for publication. (Newswires) Shares -7.8% in pre-market trade

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Wacker Chemie (WCH GY) upgraded to Buy from Reduce at Baader Helvea Shares +2.3% in pre-market trade

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Cuts 2024 delivery guidance: now targeting around 770 (prev. 800) commercial aircraft deliveries in 2024, the production rate of 75 A320 family aircraft a month is maintained but now expected to be reached in 2027 (prev. 2026); Targets adj. EBIT of around EUR 5.5bln in 2024 (prev. 6.5-7bln). Targets FCF of EUR 3.5bln (prev. 4bln) before customer financing. To record charges of around EUR 900mln in H1'24 accounts. Facing persistent specific supply chain issues mainly in engines, aerostructures, and cabin equipment. Elsewhere, reportedly has a backlog of several undelivered wide-bodied airliners without engines parked outside its Toulouse factory; jets are reportedly waiting for seats, engines and other parts, according to Reuters citing sources. CEO says Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) situation is difficult from an industrial standpoint. Says uncertain outlook for Spirit commitments contributed to the decision to cut Airbus output targets. Supply chain is improving but not in a uniform place. (Newswires/Reuters)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Air Liquide (AI FP) - ExxonMobil (XOM) adds Air Liquide to the world's largest low-carbon hydrogen project. Air Liquide will build and operate four LMAs to supply 9k metric tons of oxygen daily to the Texas facility. LMAs to also supply up to 6.5k metric tons of nitrogen daily to the Texas facility; to invest up to USD 850mln. (Newswires)

Eurofins Scientific (ERF FP) - Responds to Muddy Waters report. It is Eurofins view that Muddy Waters have never participated at investor events; adds that the entirety of the allegations are either inaccurate, irrelevant and/or misleading. Co. will provide a detailed refutation in due course. (Newswires) Follows news that Muddy Waters opened a short position, which led Eurofins shares to close lower by around 16% in the prior session

Wendel (WEN FP) - Wendel growth to realise its first exit following exclusive discussions with Safran (SAF FP) to acquire Preligens, for an enterprise value of EUR 220mln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Aegon (AGN NA) - Plans to deepens its relationship with workshop customers. Expected to lead to significant growth of net flows into workplace platform to more than GBP 5bln per year by 2028. (Newswires)

FinecoBank (FBK IM) - S&P Global ratings confirms rating at BBB/A-2; outlook stable. (Newswires)

Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP IM) - Co. and IBM secure digital transactions with fully Homomorphic Encryption. (Newswires)

Leonardo (LDO IM) - A plant operated by the Co. in southern Italy will be closed for four months because of the knock-on effects of the crisis faced by Boeing (BA), according to Reuters. (Reuters)

Telecom Italia (TIT IM) - CEO said it is not seeking a partner for its domestic consumer unit and is focused on organic growth. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Roche (ROG SW) - Announces Roche's OCREVUS SC with ENHANZE Receives European Commission Approval for Relapsing and Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis; is working closely with national health systems in Europe to ensure people with multiple sclerosis can access OCREVUS SC as quickly as possible. (Roche)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - Will spend USD 4.1bln to build a US facility to fill injection pens for weight-loss treatment Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic, according to Reuters. Elsewhere, has submitted a label extension application for Ozempic which has been accepted for review by the FDA; says Semaglutide 1mg demonstrated superiority to placebo for all confirmatory secondary outcomes assessed Ozempic (Semaglutide) injection 1 mg demonstrated reduction in risk of kidney disease-related events in phase 3 flow trial presented at the 84th scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association. Serious adverse events were reported in fewer participants in semaglutide group than in the placebo group. Adverse events leading to permanent discontinuation of Semaglutide/placebo were more common in Semaglutide group than in the placebo group. Decision on label extension application for Ozempic is anticipated in January 2025. Elsewhere, CEO testimony before the US senate is set for Sept 24. Elsewhere, Semaglutide approved for long-term weight management in China. (Reuters/Newswires)

Nokia (NOKIA FH) - Telefonica (TEF SM) and Nokia sign an agreement to boost the adoption of network APIs leveraging 5G capabilities. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.31% at 5,448, NDX -1.15% at 19,475, DJI +0.67% at 39,411, RUT +0.43% at 2,031.

SECTORS: Technology -2.07%, Consumer Discretionary -0.74%, Communication Services +0.19%, Industrials +0.36%, Health +0.55%, Materials +0.56%, Real Estate +0.7%, Financials +0.95%, Consumer Staples +1.0%, Utilities +1.25%, Energy +2.73%.

Apple (AAPL) - Reportedly denies that it is in talks about an AI partnership with Meta (META) and rejected the idea of AI partnership with Meta months ago. (Newswires)

Boeing (BA) - Offer for Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) is said to value the supplier at about USD 35/shr, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Mosaic (MOS) - April-May potash sales USD 371mln (Vs 672mln Y/Y). Reiterates Q2 guidance; sees potash volumes in the range 2.2-2.4mln tonnes, and priced at between USD 210-250 per tonne. Phosphates sales volumes and DAP prices at the plant are expected to be in the range of 1.6-1.8mln tonnes, and priced between USD 530-580 per tonne. (Newswires)

25 Jun 2024 - 06:51- Exclusive- Source: Newsquawk