Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 2nd January 2024

2nd January 2024

ASIA

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: CAC 40: +0.11% at 7,543.18, FTSE 100: +0.14% at 7,733.24, IBEX 35: +0.16% at 10,102.10, FTSE MIB: +0.07% at 30,351.62, Euro Stoxx 50: +0.16% at 4,521.65, DAX: +0.30% at 16,751.64, SMI: +0.73% at 11,137.79

SECTORS: Energy 0.45%, Healthcare 0.34%, Financials 0.28%, Consumer Disc 0.26%, Consumer Stpl 0.26%, Industrials 0.22%, Telecoms 0.20%, Utilities 0.10%, Materials 0.09%, IT -0.41%                        

FTSE 100

BT (BT/ LN) - Co. is facing the possibility of a costly fine as the Government deadline to remove Huawei technology expires. Missing the deadline could result in a fine of up to 10% of the Co's revenue or GBP 100k/day for every day that the Co. does not comply. (The Telegraph)

HSBC (HSBA LN) - Co. is set to release an international payments app, aiming to compete with existing providers such as Revolut and Wise. The new app, Zing, will be initially offered in the UK and will look to expand to Europe in the coming months, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

WPP (WPP LN) - BT (BT/ LN) Chief Jansen was approached about becoming WPP's Chairman, according to Sky News citing sources. The report noted that the search for a new Chair was not at an advanced stage. (Sky News)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL/ LN) - Point72, a hedge firm run by billionaire Cohen, has disclosed a short position in Hargreaves Lansdown, amassing a net position of 0.5% as of December 13th, according to The Times. (The Times)

BROKER MOVES

Boohoo (BOO LN) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

easyJet (EZJ LN) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Citi

Marks & Spencer (MKS LN) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

DAX

Fresenius (FRE GY) - Unit FRESENIUS KABI USA receives US FDA ANDA approval for POSACONAZOLE. (Newswires)

Merck (MRK GY) – Co’s takeover bid for JSR resulted in JSR seeking a buyout from a state-backed fund, via FT citing sources which add that the bid was not disclosed to shareholders and sparked the USD 6.4bln state offer in mid-2023. (FT) JSR is a Japanese chip materials producer

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Deutsche Lufthansa (LHA GY) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citi

CAC

Danone (BN FP) - Announces the sale of Horizon Organic and Wallaby businesses in the US, no financial terms disclosed. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

ASML (ASML NA) - Co. has cancelled shipments of some of its machines to China, following a request from the US government, weeks before export bans came into effect, according to people familiar with the matter, cited by Bloomberg. The Co. says its license has been partially revoked by the Netherlands government and reiterates the license revocation will not impact financial outlook. (Bloomberg/ASML)

Confinimmo (COFB BB) – Completes several divestments and attains 2023 targets. (Newswires)

Flight Names – Average ticket prices on over 600 routes increased at an annual rate of 2.1% in September, via FT citing Cirium data. (FT)

Global Firms – As of January 1st larger multinational firms will face a global minimum tax of at least 15% on corporate profits. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Repsol (REP SM) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Sandoz (SDZ SW) - Receives US FDA ANDA supplement 11,12,13,14 approval for LINEZOILID. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Maersk (MAERKS DC) – On Sunday the Co. paused Red Sea ships for 48 hours after Houthi militant attacks in the region, via Forbes. (Forbes)

BROKER MOVES

US

02 Jan 2024 - 06:52- EquitiesResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk