Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 29th July 2021

The Daily European Equity Opening News is uploaded at 0700BST/0200EDT recapping all of the overnight equity news.

From 0700BST/0200EDT all equity news will be covered in real-time over the audio and headline feed and the full audio rundown will be at 0715BST/0215EDT.

There will be an additional audio rundown at 0750BST/0250EDT recapping any company news which has hit the wires since 0715BST/0215EDT ahead of the European equity open

European equity coverage will only cover companies in the STOXX 600 or companies of systemic importance to particular sectors.

ASIA

Asia-Pac stock markets traded positively as focus in the region centred on a deluge of earnings results and with Chinese stocks rebounding after the nation’s securities regulator convened a meeting with banks and brokerages in a bid to restore market calm after the recent stock rout. Conversely, US equity futures were lacklustre amid ongoing Delta variant fears and following on from the FOMC which resulted in an indecisive mood for stocks after the Fed maintained its policy settings as expected and although it kept future tapering in play, as well as stated that the economy has made progress towards goals, it didn’t offer any clues on the timing for a taper and noted that sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic have not fully recovered. ASX 200 (+0.4%) was led higher by tech and mining names with software company IRESS rallying following a takeover approach and with participants digesting earnings and results from the likes of Rio Tinto and Regis Resources. Nikkei 225 (+0.7%) was also kept afloat with Nissan and Advantest the biggest gainers following their earnings including the return to profit by the automaker although upside for the index was initially limited by currency headwinds and anticipation of state of emergency declarations for Tokyo's neighbouring prefectures, while the KOSPI (+0.1%) was contained by increasing virus infections and with index top-constituent Samsung Electronics sluggish despite beating on its Q2 earnings. Hang Seng (+2.7%) and Shanghai Comp. (+1.0%) outperformed after the recent meeting involving China’s securities regulator to soothe market fears and where the regulator said it will continue to allow Chinese companies to go public in US as long as they satisfy listing requirements. In addition, the PBoC mildly upped its liquidity efforts, while the gains were amplified in Hong Kong amid notable strength in tech and digital health stocks.

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Final Q2 net KRW 9.6tln vs exp. KRW 9.2tln, oper. profit KRW 12.6tln vs prelim. KRW 12.5tln, rev. KRW 63.7tln vs prelim. KRW 63.0tln. (Newswires)

SoftBank (9984 JT) - Co. is reportedly selling 45mln shares or one-third of its stake in Uber (UBER) to cover its Didi (DIDI) losses. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.95% at 4,103; FTSE 100 +0.34% at 7,020; DAX +0.35% at 15,574; CAC 40 +1.12% at 6,605; IBEX 35 +0.43% at 8,737; FTSE MIB +0.59% at 25,236; SMI +0.33% at 12,060

SECTORS: IT 2.21%, Consumer Disc 1.26%, Healthcare 1.04%, Utilities 0.76%, Materials 0.57%, Industrials 0.56%, Energy 0.49%, Telecoms -0.01%, Consumer Stpl -0.07%, Financials -0.12%

FTSE 100

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) – New Zealand has granted provisional approval to its COVID-19 vaccine. (Newswires)

UK Travel & Leisure - The UK expects the US to drop its travel ban on the nation after ministers reopened the border to the US, according to the UK Transport Secretary. (Telegraph)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Morrisons (MRW LN) – JO Hambro has informed the Co. that the GBP 9.5bln offer from Fortress is too low. Additionally, sources say Fortress and Apollo are in the final stages of talks on Apollo joining the takeover consortium. (Telegraph) Follows the largest shareholder Silchester opposing the deal on Wednesday

BROKER MOVES

FRESNILLO (FRES LN) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM MARKET PERFORM AT BMO CAPITAL

PENNON (PNN LN) DOWNGRADED TO REDUCE FROM HOLD AT HSBC

RIO TINTO (RIO LN) MAINTAINED WITH OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN

DAX

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Q2 revenue EUR 67.3bln vs exp. EUR 59.7bln. Net EUR 5.04bln vs prev. EUR 5.49bln. Operating profit (ex-special items) EUR 6.55bln vs prev. loss EUR 2.39bln YY. H1 operating profit EUR 11.4bln vs prelim EUR 11.0bln. EV deliveries almost tripled. Co. cuts FY delivery outlook due to the chip shortage, which is also expected to impact H2. Co. raises FY operating Return On Sales guidance. (Newswires/Volkswagen). Separately, Europcar Mobility (EUCAR FP) has entered an agreement to be acquired by Volkswagen for EUR 0.50/shr; to increase by EUR 0.01/shr if the 90% squeeze-out threshold is met at the offer’s completion (Newswires/Volkswagen)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Metro AG (B4B GY) – Q3 revenue EUR 6.25bln vs. prev. EUR 5.57bln, EBITDA EUR 310mln vs prelim. EUR 310mln. (Newswires) On July 27th the Co. upgraded guidance

ThyssenKrupp (TKA GY) – Co. confirms it is undertaking discussions with FLSmidth (FLS DC) around the sale of its mining business. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

MorphoSys (MOR GY) - Q2 revenue EUR 38.2mln vs prev. EUR 18.4mln. Co. affirms revenue guidance. (Newswires)

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Q2 adj. EBITDA EUR 2.01bln vs exp. EUR 1.58bln. Revenue EUR 14.18bln vs exp. EUR 13.9bln. Co. raises FY21 adj . EBIT guidance to EUR 4.0bln vs exp. 3.17bln vs prev. EUR 2bln. FCF guidance upgraded to EUR 2bln vs prev. "break even". Co. narrows FY21 commercial aircraft deliveries. H1 revenues EUR 24.64bln vs prev. EUR 18.9bln. (Newswires) [4.0% CAC 40 weight, 1.9% Euro Stoxx 50 weight]

Carrefour (CA FP) - H1 revenue EUR 38.32bln vs exp. EUR 34.8bln. EBIT EUR 0.74bln vs exp. EUR 0.81bln. Recurring operating profit EUR 740mln vs exp. EUR 745mln. Co. has added EUR 200mln to its share buyback scheme. Q2 LFL sales +3.6% YY. Co. affirms guidance. Co. said going forward, excess cash will be allocated for M&A and also returned to shareholders; no decisions made on M&A. (Newswires)

EDF (EDF FP) - French government sources said they cannot envisage parliament legislation on restructuring of EDF at the moment. (Newswires)

Safran (SAF FP) – H1 revenue EUR 6.8bln vs prev. EUR 8.8bln, net EUR 270mln vs prev. EUR 500mln. Confirms FY21 guidance; free cash flow guidance expected to increase above the prev. level. (Newswires)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Q2 revenue EUR 8.74bln vs exp. EUR 8.62bln. Business EPS EUR 1.38 vs exp. EUR 1.29. Co. raises its business EPS outlook. [7.0% CAC 40 weight, 3.5% Euro Stoxx 50 weight]

Vivendi (VIV FP) - H1 revenue EUR 8.2bln vs exp. 7.98bln. EBTIDA EUR 1.07bln vs exp. EUR 911mln. Organic revenue EUR 12% YY. Co. said share buybacks are possible after distribution of Universal shares. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

ADP (ADP FP) - H1 revenue EUR 0.99bln vs exp. EUR 0.97bln, EBIT EUR -0.243bln vs exp. EUR -0.334bln. net EUR -172mln vs prev. EUR -542mln. Co. cuts FY21 EBITDA margin to 15-20% vs prev. 18-23%. Co. cuts FY21 traffic guidance to 40-50% of 2019 levels vs prev. 45-55%. (Globe Newswire/Newswires)

Elis (ELIS FP) - H1 adj. net EUR 67.1mln vs prev. EUR 49mln. EBITDA EUR 458mln vs exp. EUR 450mln. Co. raises FY21 organic revenue guidance to +5-6% vs prev. +3%. (Newswires)

Suez (SEV FP)- H1 revenue EUR 8.71bln vs prev. EUR 8.17bln YY. EBITDA EUR 1.60bln vs prev. EUR 1.20bln. H1 net EUR +298mln vs prev. EUR -538mln YY. Co. affirmed its outlook. Co. notes that Veolia’s (VIE FP) takeover bid continues to progress toward the target achievement date of end-2021. (Newswires)

Vallourec (VK FP) – Q2 revenue EUR 842mln vs exp. EUR 885mln, net EUR 51mln vs exp. EUR -0.53mln, EBITDA EUR 148mln vs exp. EUR 110mln. Confirms FY21 guidance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SAFRAN (SAF FP) MAINTAINED WITH OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN

VIVENDI (VIV FP) MAINTAINED WITH OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN

PAN EUROPE

AB InBev (ABI BB) - Q2 revenue USD 13.54bln vs exp. USD 13.47bln, EBITDA USD 4.85bln vs exp. USD 4.82bln, underlying profit USD 1.51bln. Adj. EPS USD 0.95 vs exp. USD 0.93. Organic revenue +27.6% vs exp. +25.2%. Co. still sees FY adj. EBITA between 8-12% vs exp. 12.3%. Co. still sees FY CAPEX between USD 4.5-5bln; increasing investment in innovation to fuel momentum. (Newswires)

Auto Names - Ford (F) CEO said sees some signs of improvement in semiconductor chips flow, but the situation remains fluid. (Newswires)

Cofinimmo (COFB BB) - H1 rental revenue EUR 142.6mln vs prev. EUR 122.8mln. Co. raises FY EPS guidance. (Newswires)

Mediaset Espana (TL5 SM) - Q2 net EUR 48.6mln vs exp. EUR 47mln. Revenue EUR 239.6mln vs exp. EUR 240mln. EBITDA EUR 61.5mln vs exp. EUR 63mln. (Newswires)

Melia Hotels (MEL SM) - H1 revenue EUR 229mln vs prev. EUR 319mln. Net EUR -156.1mln vs prev. EUR -358.6mln. (Newswires)

Total (FP FP)/Equinor (EQNR NO) – Co’s are to exit their stake in the Venezuela oil JV Petrocedeno, according to sources; where the Co’s held a 30% and 10% stake respectively. Stakes are to be transferred to PDVSA. (Newswires)

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW NA) - Q2 net rental revenue EUR 785mln vs prev. EUR 1.07bln YY. Adj. EPS EUR 3.24 vs prev. EUR 4.65 YY. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PRYSMIAN (PRY IM) MAINTAINED WITH OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN

SMI

Credit Suisse (CSGN SW) - Q2 revenue CHF 5.1bln vs exp. CHF 5.16bln, pretax CHF 0.813bln vs exp. CHF 0.850bln, net income CHF 253mln vs exp. 379.7mln. Asset Management pretax CHF 104mln vs exp. CHF 73mln. APAC pretax CHF 250mln vs exp. CHF 299mln. Fixed Income Sales & Trading revenues were down 33% year on year; Equity Sales & Trading revenues (excluding Archegos) were down 17%; Capital Markets revenues were down 6% (or increased 23% excluding the Leveraged Finance mark-to-market gains in 2Q208); and Advisory revenues were down 34%. Revenues in GTS (the collaboration between the IB and wealth management businesses) declined, in part due to the Co's more conservative risk appetite. Q2 provisions for credit loss CHF 25mln. Co. still targets CET1 leverage ratio of at least 4% and a CET1 ratio of at least 13%. Co. published its findings from the Archegos probe. The probe found a failure to effectively manage risks by both first and second lines of defense as well as a lack of risk escalation. The probe also found that the business did not act with ill-intent. (Credit Suisse/Newswires)

Nestle (NESN SW) - H1 revenue CHF 41.8bln vs exp. CHF 41.9bln. Net CHF 5.9bln vs exp. CHF 5.8bln. Operating profit CHF 7.3bln vs exp. CHF 7.2bln. Co. affirms FY underlying EPS guidance. Co. expects full-year organic sales growth between 5% and 6%. Underlying trading operating profit margin is now expected around 17.5%, reflecting initial time delays between input cost inflation and pricing as well as the one-off integration costs related to the acquisition of The Bountiful Company’s core brands. (Newswires/Nestle)

Roche (ROG SW) - FIREFISH Part 2, a pivotal global study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Evrysdi in babies aged 1-7 months old with symptomatic Type 1 spinal muscular atrophy – study has met its primary endpoint. Safety consistent with the known profile. Separately, the FDA has accepted the company’s Biologics License Application (BLA), under Priority Review, for faricimab for the treatment of neovascular or “wet” age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME). (Roche)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Nokia (NOKIA FH) - Q2 net sales EUR 5.31bln vs exp. EUR 5.16bln. Adj. EPS EUR 0.09 vs exp. EUR 0.04. Co. forecasts FY net sales between EUR 21.7-22.7bln vs exp. EUR 21.8bln. Co. raises FY operating margin forecast to 10-12% vs prev. 7-10%. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

Facebook Inc (FB) - Q2 2021 (USD) EPS 3.61 (exp. 3.04), Revenue 29.08bln (exp. 27.87bln); Advertising Revenue 28.58bln (exp. 27.05bln). Daily Active Users 1.91bln (exp. 1.95bln); Monthly Active Users 2.90bln (exp. 2.97bln). Co. expects that advertising revenue growth will be driven by YY advertising price increases during the rest of 2021. Co. expects total revenue growth vs 2019 levels to decelerate modestly in H2 vs Q2 growth rate. Co. sees increased ad targeting headwinds in 2021 from regulatory and platform changes, notably the recent Apple (AAPL) iOS updates, which are expected to have a greater impact in Q3 vs Q2. (PR Newswire) Shares fell 3.5% after market [2.8% SPX weight 5.7%, NDX weight]

Ford Motor Co (F) - Q2 2021 (USD): Adj. EPS 0.13 (exp. -0.03), Revenue 26.8bln (exp. 24.23bln). Co. raised earnings and cash flow guidance for the full year. CEO sees some signs of improvement in semiconductor chips flow, but situation remains fluid (Businesswire/Newswires) Shares rose 3.8% aftermarket

PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL) - Q2 2021 (USD): Adj. EPS 1.15 (exp. 1.13), Revenue 6.24bln (exp. 6.27bln). Total Payment Volume 311bln (exp. 295bln); Net New Active Accounts 11.4mln (exp. 13.6mln). Shares fell 5.3% aftermarket

Qualcomm Inc (QCOM) - Q3 2021 (USD): Adj. EPS 1.92 (exp. 1.68), Revenue 8.06bln (exp. 7.58bln). Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT): 6.47bln (exp. 6.10bln). Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL): 1.49bln (exp. 1.46bln). Q4 EPS view 2.15-2.35 (exp. 2.06), Revenue view 8.4bln-9.2bln (exp. 8.61bln). Co. sees calendar year 3G/4G/5G handset shipments of high-single-digit growth. (PR Newswires) Shares rose 2.8% aftermarket

CLOSES: SPX -0.02% at 4,400, NDX +0.41% at 15,018, DJIA -0.36% at 34,931, RUT +1.51% at 2,224

SECTORS: Consumer Staples -0.87%, Utilities -0.69%, Real Estate -0.63%, Industrials -0.29%, Consumer Discretionary -0.23%, Financials -0.21%, Technology -0.1%, Materials +0.25%, Health Care +0.38%, Communication Services +0.75%, Energy +0.97%

29 Jul 2021 - 06:58- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk