Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 27th November 2023

27th November 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac equity markets began the week subdued heading into month-end and after newsflow over the weekend was mainly dominated by geopolitical headlines with a question mark hanging over whether the Israel-Hamas truce will be extended beyond the initial four-day agreement. ASX 200 (-0.8%) finished lower as weakness in the defensive and mining-related sectors overshadowed the gains in tech, while a quiet calendar added to the humdrum mood. Nikkei 225 (-0.5%) wiped out its opening gains after hitting resistance just above the 33,800 level and as participants digested Japanese Services PPI which showed a slight acceleration. Hang Seng (-0.6%) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.6%) declined following soft Chinese Industrial Profits and amid shadow banking concerns after Chinese authorities opened a probe into struggling shadow bank Zhongzhi, while the PBoC’s notice to strengthen financial support for private companies did little to spur risk sentiment.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX +0.22% at 16,029.49, FTSE 100 +0.06% at 7,488.20, CAC 40 +0.20% at 7,292.80, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.27% at 4,372.95, IBEX 35 +0.34% at 9,939.00, FTSE MIB +0.67% at 29,432.30, SMI +0.26% at 10,879.52.

SECTORS: Energy 0.69%, Utilities 0.49%, Telecoms 0.44%, Financials 0.40%, Industrials 0.36%, Healthcare 0.36%, Consumer Stpl 0.33%, Materials 0.31%, IT -0.09%, Consumer Disc -0.11%

FTSE 100

Housing Names – UK Housing Secretary Gove says he is confident that the bill to reform the leasehold system will pass before the next general election, via BBC. In other news, landlords will face a GBP 1700/year short-fall on new lets to social tenants, following Chancellor Hunt's LHA rates scheme, according to The Telegraph. (BBC/ The Telegraph)

Lloyd's (LLOY LN) - Over 2,500 jobs are reportedly at risk in Lloyd's shakeup, according to The Guardian. (The Guardian)

Shell (SHEL LN) - UK's Unite union says Kaefar Contractors at Shell's Mossmoran and St Fergus energy plants begin week-long strike action. (Newswires)

Tobacco Names – British American Tobacco (BATS LN) is calling for more stringent regulation around vaping; including a licensing regime and banning of flavours targeting children.; In other news, New Zealand’s new government has announced it will scrap the previous plan to ban cigarette sales to anyone born after 2008, according to the BBC. (BBC)

UK Policy - UK PM Sunak reportedly eyes more tax cuts in spring as he weighs the UK election date, while he also stated in an interview that claims the UK is headed for austerity are unfounded, according to Bloomberg; is to highlight almost GBP 30bln of investment pledges by international companies at the Global Investment Summit on Monday which will create thousands of jobs across the UK in the most innovative sectors, including tech, life sciences, renewables, housing and infrastructure, according to the UK government website. (Bloomberg)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Metro Bank (MTRO LN) – Shareholders are to vote later today on whether to support a rescue deal to raise funds and refinance debt. (BBC)

BROKER MOVES

Entain (ENT LN) downgraded to Sell from Buy at Goldman Sachs

Rightmove (RMV LN) upgraded to Buy from Add at Peel Hunt

DAX

Bayer (BAYN) - CEO said breaking up the firm will not itself fix Bayer's issues, blames thin drug pipeline on ‘years of under-investment’, though adds that the group is generating a series of promising new drugs after R&D strategy change, the FT reports. (FT)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

BASF (BAS GY) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley Shares seen -2% in pre-market trade

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Casino (CO FP) - Acquires GPA's stake in Cnova (CNV FP) for EUR 10mln; will increase its stake in Cnova to 98.8%; In other news, confirms it has received preliminary expressions of interest of the acquisition of hypermarket and supermarket stores. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Eutelsat (ETL FP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

PAN EUROPE

Santander (SAN SM) – CEO Botin has welcomed the removal of the banker bonus cap within the UK. (FT)

Unicredit (UCG IM), Intesa Sanpaolo (ISM IM) and Banco BPM (BAMI IM) - Will have to maintain a capital buffer of 1.50, 1.25 and 0.5% of their total RVA respectively, as of Jan 1st 2024 according to Bank of Italy. BPER, Mediobanca, Iccrea, and Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro will have to maintain a capital buffer of 0.125%. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

JDE Peet's (JDEP NA) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux

SMI

Roche (ROG SW) - Expands hepatitis diagnostics portfolio to help clinicians diagnose and monitor patients with acute or chronic hepatitis B infection. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Julius Baer (BAER SW) - Provides update on private debt exposure; Prudent in further valuation adjustments as needed; booked provisions of CHF 70mln against the Group's credit portfolio after October 31st. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

SEB (SEBA SS) upgraded to Buy from Add at AlphaValue

US

Tesla (TSLA) - Co. "faces ban" on selling self-driving cars in the UK, under new driverless car laws, according to The Telegraph. The changes to law are set to be implemented as soon as next year. (Newswires)

Walgreens (WBA) - UK Pharmacy Boots transfers its GBP 4.8bln pension obligations to Legal & General, potentially enabling Walgreens Boots Alliance's UK pharmacy chain sale, FT reports. Legal & General has assumed liabilities for 53,000 retirees, aiding Boots in removing a hurdle for a sale after market conditions thwarted a previous attempt.

US Consumers - Black Friday US online sales rose 7.5% Y/Y to USD 9.8bln, while shopper traffic to physical stores rose 2%-5% Y/Y, according to CNBC citing Adobe Analytics. Online sales are boosted by demand for electronics, smartwatches, TVs and audio equipment, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

27 Nov 2023 - 06:52- Research Sheet- Source: Newswires