Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 28th June 2023

28th June 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks traded mixed and only partially sustained the momentum from the gains on Wall St where risk appetite was lifted and the NDX outperformed amid strong data and a tech rebound. ASX 200 (+1.0%) was positive with nearly all sectors in the green after softer-than-expected monthly CPI data from Australia added to the bets for the RBA to keep rates unchanged at next week’s meeting. Nikkei 225 (+1.5%) gained amid tailwinds from recent currency weakness and with Japan leaning towards extending support measures for gas and electricity bills set to expire at the end of September as it seeks to underpin the economy. Hang Seng (-0.1%) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.5%) were subdued after Chinese Industrial Profits remained at a steep contraction and with the US considering new curbs on AI chip exports to China amid some concerns China could use AI chips from Nvidia and others for weapons development and hacking.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.58% at 4,305, FTSE 100 +0.11% at 7,461, DAX +0.21% at 15,846, CAC 40 +0.43% at 7,216, FTSE MIB +0.58% at 27,401, IBEX 35 +1.28% at 9,393, SMI +0.01% at 11,143.

SECTORS: Telecoms 0.93%, Consumer Disc 0.82%, Utilities 0.72%, Financials 0.66%, Industrials 0.57%, Materials 0.12%, Consumer Stpl -0.18%, IT -0.22%, Healthcare -1.16%, Energy -1.23%

FTSE 100

Diageo (DGE LN) – Co. will end its business relationship with rapper Diddy amid alleged racial discrimination by the Co., which it denied. (FT)

Housing names - Two-fifths of UK sellers are accepting discounts of more than 5% on property asking prices as rising mortgage costs spook buyers, according to property website Zoopla cited by FT.

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Establishing a battery testing plan in Melbourne and is expected to be operational by November. (Newswires)

UK Utilities – The government has reportedly begun drawing up plans for the collapse of Thames Water amid its GBP 14bln debt pile, according to Sky News. (Sky News)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

IAG (IAG LN) initiated with Sector Perform at RBC

Sage (SGE LN) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan Chase

Wizz Air (WIZZ LN) initiated with Outperform at RBC

EasyJet (EZJ LN) initiated with Sector Perform at RBC

Vodafone (VOD LN) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Exane BNP

DAX

Bayer (BAYN GY) - Bayer launches Phase III programme QUANTI to study gadoquatrane, an investigational MRI contrast agent. The programme aims to evaluate its safety and efficacy with a significantly lower gadolinium dose, potentially offering innovative medical imaging solutions. (Newswires) Shares seen -3% pre-market

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Rheinmetall (RHM GY) - Awarded a USD 812mln US Army contract. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Siemens Energy (ENR GY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

Siemens Energy (ENR GY) reiterated with Overweight at JPMorgan Chase

Deutsche Lufthansa (LHA GY) initiated with Sector Perform at RBC

CAC

BNP Paribas (BNP FP) - Reaches a deal with Orange (ORA FP) on its online bank, according to reports. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

ASML (ASML NA) – Co.’s senior executive VP said decoupling the global chip supply chain will be extremely difficult and expensive, if not impossible. (FT)

Chip names - US considers new curbs on AI chip exports to China amid some concerns China could use AI chips from Nvidia (NVDA) and others for weapons development and hacking, according to WSJ. (WSJ)

Stellantis (STLAM IM), Archer Aviation (ACHR) - After news last week that Stellantis and Archer were moving their partnership from a ‘concept phase’ to an ‘execution phase’, a regulatory filing showed Stellantis now has a 10.6% stake in Archer Aviation, representing 20.23mln shares.

BROKER MOVES

Prosus (PRX NA) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC

Ryanair (RYA ID) initiated with Outperform at RBC

SMI

Swiss Life (SLHN SW) - Affirms FY24 targets and notes "well on track to achieve or exceed targets". (Newswires)

UBS (UBS SW) - Said to cut more than half of Credit Suisse workforce of 45k, starting from next month and are to expect another two cuts in September and October. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

Boliden (BOL SS) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Exane BNP

SBB (SBBB SS) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs

US

CLOSES: SPX +1.15% at 4,378, NDX +1.75% at 14,945, DJIA +0.63% at 33,927, RUT +1.46% at 1,850.

SECTORS: Consumer Discretionary +2.06%, Technology +2.04%, Materials +1.4%, Industrials +1.25%, Communication Services +1.12%, Real Estate +1.11%, Financials +0.71%, Consumer Staples +0.34%, Energy +0.23%, Utilities +0.04%, Health -0.2%.

AbbVie (ABBV), Genmab (GMAB) - Genmab and AbbVie reported positive phase 1/2 trial results for epcoritamab in follicular lymphoma patients. Response rate was 82%, exceeding expectations, with no new safety concerns. Further regulatory discussions and presentations are planned. (Newswires)

Alphabet's (GOOGL) - Google cuts jobs at Waze as it continues to merge mapping products, according to CNBC. (Newswires)

28 Jun 2023 - 06:48- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk