Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 30th October 2023

30th October 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks ultimately traded mixed but with the major indices mostly in the red as geopolitics continued to dominate headlines ahead of month-end and this week’s slew of upcoming risk events. ASX 200 (-0.8%) was led lower by underperformance in energy and the top-weighted financial sector although the index moved off intraday lows as participants also digested stronger-than-expected Australian Retail Sales data. Nikkei 225 (-1.0%) was the laggard as yields edged higher and with the BoJ kick-starting its 2-day policy meeting which some see as a live meeting. Hang Seng (-0.3%) and Shanghai Comp. (+0.1%) were both initially lower amid notable weakness in energy stocks and with financials also pressured after mixed earnings from some of the large banks including China’s biggest commercial lender ICBC which posted a flat profit for Q3, while there was also turbulence in Evergrande shares owing to a wind-up hearing which was adjourned to December 4th. Conversely, the downside stemmed for the mainland amid hopes of improving US-China ties after US Secretary of State Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and agreed to work towards a Biden-Xi meeting in November.

Toyota (7203 JT) - September parent only global output rose 1.5% Y/Y to 900.9k units and global vehicle sales rose 11.6% Y/Y to 921.3k units. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX -0.30% at 14,687.41, FTSE 100 -0.86% at 7,291.28, CAC 40 -1.28% at 6,800.47, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.86% at 4,014.65, IBEX 35 -0.50% at 8,918.30, FTSE MIB -0.80% at 27,287.45, SMI -0.45% at 10,321.00.

SECTORS: Materials 0.45%, Energy 0.21%, Industrials 0.02%, Telecoms -0.35%, IT -0.37%, Utilities -0.44%, Consumer Disc -0.66%, Financials -0.81%, Consumer Stpl -1.69%, Healthcare -3.03%

FTSE 100

Airline Names - Airliners are piling pressure on Gatwick Airport to improve its performance, following staff shortages leading to serious disruptions over the summer, according to the FT. (FT)

Aviva (AV/ LN) - New oil drilling puts UK climate goals under threat and warned the Government lacked "detailed plans", according to The Times. (The Times)

Frasers (FRAS LN) - Co. has sold the Missguided brand and intellectual property rights to Shein for an undisclosed sum, according to The Times. (The Times)

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL/ LN) - Co. has reportedly warned the co-founder not to publicly attack the bosses at the Co., according to The Times. (The Times)

HSBC (HSBA LN) - Q3 (USD) pretax rose by USD 4.6bln to 7.7bln (exp. 8.1bln), Revenue rose 40% to USD 16.2bln (exp. 16.24bln), Co. announced a USD 3.0bln stock buyback and approved a third interim dividend of USD 0.10/shr. (Newswires). CEO says China's property market is at the bottom and expects gradual improvement in China's real estate market. Hong Kong shares -0.5%

Market Analysis - The number of profit warnings citing worsening credit conditions has hit the highest level since the financial crisis, according to new figures cited by The Times. (The Times)

Oil Names - The National Commission said that decarbonising Britain's energy system should render gas distribution obsolete, according to The Times. (The Times)

Vodafone (VOD LN) - Co. is close to selling at least 50% of its Spanish unit Zegona for a deal worth more than EUR 5bln, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. The sources add that the announcement could come in the coming days. (Bloomberg)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Asos (ASC LN) - Co. is in talks to offload Topshop to Authentic Brands Group, which could free up hundreds of millions of pounds, according to The Telegraph. (The Telegraph)

BROKER MOVES

Rightmove (RMV LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

DAX

Bayer (BAYN GY) - Philadelphia jury orders the Co. to pay USD 175mln in damages in individual Roundup cancer trial. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Mercedes-Benz (BMG GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus

MTU Aero Engines (MTX GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SocGen

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Ryanair (RYA ID) - Co. threatens to scrap aircraft orders if Boeing (BA) fails to deliver on time, according to The Telegraph. (The Telegraph)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/ STLAP FP) - Announced a tentative labour deal was reached with the UAW, although Canada's Unifor said strike action will commence at all Stellantis facilities in Canada. It was separately reported that UAW’s tentative agreement with Ford (F) includes a USD 5,000 ratification bonus, a USD 1,500 voucher towards a vehicle purchase and all new temporary employees will be converted to in-progress employees after 9 months. Conversely, UAW broadened its strike against GM (GM) with a walkout at the Spring Hill, Tennessee plant. (Newswires)

Mediobanca (MB IM) - CEO secures victory in a power struggle with top investors, via the FT. (FT)

Viscofan (VIS SM) - Q3 (EUR): Net 37.9mln, -5.7% YY, EBITDA 63.3mln (exp. 66.7mln), Revenue 298mln (exp. 313mln). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Novartis (NOVN SW) - Novartis investigational atrasentan Phase III study demonstrates clinically meaningful and highly statistically significant proteinuria reduction in patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN). (Global Newswire)

Swiss Banks - SNB: As of 1 December 2023, will lower the threshold factor for the remuneration of sight deposits of account holders subject to minimum reserve requirements from 28 to 25. The changes have no impact on the current monetary policy stance. Also, for sight deposit account holders subject to minimum reserve requirements, sight deposits up to the level of the minimum reserves minus cash holdings will no longer be remunerated. Sight deposits which are above this level but below the threshold will continue to be remunerated at the SNB policy rate. (SNB)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

ams-OSRAM (AMS SW) - Signs EUR 450mln of infrastructure related asset transactions as part of its recent presenting financing plan. (Newswires)

Clariant (CLN SW) - Q3 (CHF): adj. EBITDA 164mln (prev. 242mln YY), Revenue 1.03bln (exp. 1.06bln). Expects to see an easing inflationary environment, but no recovery in Q4'23. (Newswires)

Helvetia (HELN SW) - Further internationalises its business with UK branch. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Coloplast (COLOB DC) upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

Danske Bank (DANSKE DC) upgraded to Hold from Sell at SocGen

Sweco (SWECA SS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SEB

NovoZymes (NZYMB DC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank

US

Google (GOOGL) - Commits USD 2bln in funding to AI start-up Anthropic, according to WSJ. (WSJ)

Republic First Bancorp (FRBK) - Is near a deal with an investor group aimed at shoring up its finances, and is set to receive a USD 35mln infusion, according to WSJ. (WSJ)

CLOSES: SPX -0.48% at 4,117, NDX +0.50% at 14,180, DJIA -1.12% at 32,417, RUT -1.21% at 1,636.

SECTORS: Energy -2.3%, Financials -1.86%, Utilities -1.81%, Health -1.71%, Real Estate -1.6%, Consumer Staples -1.36%, Industrials -0.87%, Materials -0.06%, Communication Services +0.1%, Technology +0.58%, Consumer Discretionary +1.7%.

30 Oct 2023 - 06:56- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk