Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 2nd May 2024

2nd May 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mostly positive but with the upside for most bourses limited as the region reflected on the recent FOMC meeting and suspected Japanese currency intervention. ASX 200 was led higher by gold miners, financials and tech which benefitted from softer yields, while participants also digested earnings releases including from NAB and Woolworths. Nikkei 225 clawed back opening losses and returned to flat territory as effects of suspected intervention subsided. Hang Seng outperformed on return from the holiday closure despite the continued absence of mainland participants and Stock Connect flows with developers helped after China's Politburo pledged efforts to support the property sector, while tech rallied as the unlikelihood of a US rate hike also bodes well for Hong Kong stocks given the HKMA's requisite to move in lock-step with the Fed.

NAB (NAB AT) - H1 (AUD) cash earnings 3.55bln (prev. 4.07bln Y/Y), declares interim dividend of AUD 0.84/shr and announces an AUD 1.5bln increase in on-market share buyback

EUROPEAN CLOSES

• FTSE 100: -0.28% at 8,121.24


• Other major markets were closed on Wednesday for Labour Day.

FTSE 100

BAE Systems (BA/ LN) – Selected by NASA to develop ACX that will fly on NOAA’s geostationary extended observations satellite constellation. (Newswires)

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK LN) - A US Senator spoke against GlaxoSmithKline over the cost of asthma inhalers, according to Washington Post. (Washington Post)

Smith & Nephew (SN/ LN) – Resolution 2 on directors remuneration policy on restricted stock plan received less than 80% support at AGM. (Newswires)

Standard Chartered (STAN LN / 2888 HK) - Q1 (USD) pre-tax profit 1.9bln (exp. 1.4bln), NII rose 5% Y/Y to USD 2.4bln in constant currency. Maintains 2024 guidance. Sees 2024 ROTE increasing steadily from 10%. Co. expects credit loss provisions of USD 1.2bln on its Chinese commercial property portfolio. (Newswires) Shares rose 4.8% in Hong Kong trade.

Unilever (ULVR LN) – shareholders today approved each of resolutions put to 2024 AGM. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

LSEG (LSEG LN) added to Goldman Sachs conviction list. (Newswires)

DAX

Commerzbank (CBK GY) – Shareholders approved a dividend of EUR 0.35/shr and authorisation of further share buybacks. To acquire its shares up to a volume of 10% of share capital. (Newswires)

Mercedes Benz (MBG GY) – added to Goldman Sachs conviction list. Elsewhere, named Federico Kochlowski as CEO of Mercedes Benz US. (Newswires)

Rational (RAA GY) – Q1 (EUR): Revenue 286.4mln (exp. 285mln, prev. 282.4mln Y/Y), EBIT 71.1mln (exp. 65.5mln Y/Y). Will propose a dividend of EUR 13.5/shr. Confirms FY24 guidance. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

DHL (DHL GY) – The Teamsters union is to present a countermotion urging investors to reject the DHL remuneration report at the AGM on May 3. (Newswires)

Prosiebensat 1 Media SE (PSM GY) – 70.95% of shareholders voted for MediaForEurope’s (MFE IM) motion for a split of the Co. (Newswires) 75% of votes were required

Siltronic (WAF GY) – Q1 (EUR): EBITDA 90.8mln (exp. 79.4mln), Revenue 343.5mln (exp. 343.5mln). As expected, Co’s earnings continue to be impacted by weak demand. Expects a significant increase in demand in mid/long term. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) and Airbus sent senior executives to New York to chart a path for a takeover of key aircraft-manufacturing assets, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

L'Oreal (OR FP) - Estee Lauder (EL) CEO said despite softness within mainland China this is expected to go positive during Q4. Softness in mainland China is more due to consumer sentiment of the middle class. (Newswires)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Beyfortus real-world evidence published in The Lancet shows 82% reduction in infant RSV hospitalizations. (Sanofi)

Teleperformance (TEP FP) – Q1 (EUR): Revenue 2.54bln, +0.9% Y/Y. Confirmed FY24 outlook. Improved performance expected in Q2. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Casino (CO FP) - Announced disposal of 121 stores to ITM, Auchan, and Carrefour; the transaction is based on an enterprise value of stores sold of EUR 698mln. (Newswires)

Lagardere (MMB FP) – The Board unanimously decided to co-opt Jean-Christophe Theiry as director and to appoint him as CEO. (Newswires)

Saint Gobain (SGO FP) added to Goldman Sachs conviction list. (Newswires)

Worldline (WLN FP) – Q1 (EUR): Revenue 1.09bln (exp. 1.07bln), +2.5%. Confirms FY24 guidance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Pernod Ricard (RI FP) upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC

PAN EUROPE

ArcelorMittal (MT NA) – Q1 (EUR): EBITDA 1.95bln (exp. 1.89bln), Sales 16.28bln (exp. 16.69bln), Net Income 938mln (exp. 783mln). Co. continues to forecast world ex-China apparent Steel consumption to grow 3-4% in 2024. Has repurchased a further 22.5mln shares in Q1’24. Will continue to return a minimum 50% of post-dividend FCF to shareholders through share buyback programs. Co. remains positive on medium/long-term steel demand outlook. (Newswires)

BBVA (BBVA SM)/Sabadell (SAB SM) - BBVA said it has submitted an indicative proposal of a merger transaction with Sabadell. BBVA said the merger project would offer a "very attractive premium" for Sabadell shareholders, with an exchange ratio of 1 newly issued BBVA share for every 4.83 Sabadell shares. (Newswires)

DSM-Firmenich (DSFIR NA) – Q1 (EUR): Revenue 3.07bln (Co. consensus 3.11bln), EBITDA 463mln (Co. consensus 465mln). Confirms FY24 guidance; Adj. EBITDA of at least 1.9bln. (Newswires)

ING (ING NA) – Q1 (EUR): NII 3.83bln (exp. 3.88bln), Net Income 1.57bln (exp. 1.60bln), Total Income 5.58bln, Pre-tax profit 2.29bln (exp. 2.31bln). 2.5bln share buyback as we continue to align our capital to our target level. Total income in 2024 to remain strong in a positive rate environment albeit somewhat lower than in 2023. Outlook: Aim is to increase fee income by 5-10%. (Newswires)

Chip/Tech Names - Qualcomm (QCOM) shares rose 4.1% after hours as earnings beat on both the top and bottom lines.

Aena (AENA SM) – Q1 (EUR): EBITDA 581.1mln (exp. 964.4mln), Net Income 261mln (exp. 551mln), Pretax profit 346.7mln (exp. 711mln). (Newswires)

NN Group (NN NA) – Moody’s ratings affirmed NN’s LT issuer rating at Aa3; outlook stable. (Newswires)

Stellantis' (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - UAW said members at Stellantis' Warren Stamping plant to take strike authorisation vote over health and safety grievances. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SNAM (SNAM IM) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC

Acciona Energy (ANE SM) upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC

SMI

Swisscom (SCMN SW) – Q1 (CHF): Revenue 2.70bln (exp. 2.72bln), Net Income 455mln (exp. 416mln). Confirms FY24 outlook. Says the Vodafone Italia transaction is on track. FY Revenue outlook 11bln (exp. 11.94bln). (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - Q1 (DKK): Sales 65.35bln (exp. 63.2bln), Wegovy sales 9.38bln (exp. 10.55bln), Net 25.4bln (exp. 23.4bln), Operating 31.8bln, EPS 5.68 (exp. 5.23), Gross margin 84.8% (exp. 84.7%). Diabetes/Obesity Care sales 61bln, +27%; mainly driven by GLP-1 diabetes sales growth of 32% at CER & Obesity care to 11bln, +42% at CER. Number of patients starting on Wegovy in the US has quadrupled Y/Y. US demand for Wegovy still exceeds supply. Q1 Sales Breakdown: Total GLP-1 34.98bln (exp. 34.78bln, prev. 26.7bln). Injectable GLP-1 29.9bln (prev. 22.45bln). Ozempic 27.8bln (prev. 19.6bln). Victoza 2.16bln (prev. 2.8bln). Rybelsus 5bln (preb. 4.35bln). Wegovy 9.37bln (prev. 4.5bln). Saxenda 1.65bln (prev. 3.27bln). FY Guidance: Sales +19 to +27% (exp. +25.9%) at CER. Operating Profit +22% to +30% at CER. (Newswires) Index Weighting: Stoxx 600 (3.5% - largest)

GN Store Nord (GN DC) – Q1 (DKK): Revenue 4.3bln (exp. 4.23bln), EPS 1.74. Confirms FY24 guidance. (Newswires)

Nokia (NOKIA FH) – Infobip and Nokia partner to enable developers to build wider array of Telco network-powered applications faster. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

DoorDash Inc (DASH) - Q1 2024 (USD): EPS -0.06 (exp. -0.04), Revenue 2.51bln (exp. 2.45bln). Total orders +21% to 620mln (exp. 608mln). Adj. EBITDA USD 371mln (exp. 368.5mln). (DASH IR) Shares fell 15.3% after-market.

eBay Inc (EBAY) - Q1 2024 (USD): Adj. EPS 1.25 (exp. 1.20), Revenue 2.56bln (exp. 2.53bln). (Newswires) Shares fell 3.1% after-market.

Exxon (XOM) - Co. is reportedly set to win FTC approval for Pioneer (PXD) deal with settlement, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Carvana Co (CVNA) - Q1 2024 (USD): Adj. EBITDA 235mln (exp. 124.6mln), Revenue 3.06bln (exp. 2.67bln). (Newswires) Shares rose 32.4% after-market.

Qualcomm (QCOM) - Q2 2024 (USD): Adj. EPS 2.44 (exp. 2.32), Revenue 9.39bln (exp. 9.34bln). QCT revenue USD 8.03bln (exp. 8.01bln). Internet of Things revenue USD 1.24bln (exp. 1.25bln). Handsets revenue USD 6.18bln (exp. 6.16bln). Automotive revenue USD 603mln (exp. 583.6mln). QTL revenue USD 1.32bln (exp. 1.31bln). Guides Q3 Adj. EPS USD 2.15-2.35 (exp. 2.16). Guides Q3 rev. USD 8.8bln-9.6bln (exp. 9.08bln). Guides Q3 QCT revenue USD 7.5bln-8.1bln (exp. 7.76bln). Guides Q3 QTL revenue USD 1.2bln-1.4bln (exp. 1.27bln). Expects no chip revenue from Huawei beyond the current year but is pursuing licensing negotiations with Huawei. (Newswires) Shares rose 4.1% after-market.

CLOSES: SPX -0.34% at 5,018, NDX -0.70% at 17,318, DJIA +0.23% at 37,903, RUT +0.32% at 1,980.

SECTORS: Utilities +1.14%, Communication Services +0.83%, Materials +0.5%, Health +0.25%, Real Estate +0.12%, Financials -0.02%, Consumer Discretionary -0.02%, Industrials -0.21%, Consumer Staples -0.61%, Technology -1.26%, Energy -1.6%.

02 May 2024 - 06:57- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk