Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 31st May 2023

31st May 2023

ASIA

APAC stocks were mostly lower following the mixed handover from Wall St where sentiment was clouded as hardliners voiced opposition to the debt ceiling bill, while risk appetite was subdued overnight as participants digested a slew of data releases heading into month-end including disappointing Chinese official PMIs. ASX 200 was led lower by underperformance in the commodity-related sectors with energy the worst hit after oil prices slumped by more than 4% yesterday and with the mood not helped by firmer-than-expected monthly CPI. Nikkei 225 was pressured by data releases in which Industrial Production printed a surprise contraction and Retail Sales missed forecasts, with early jitters also from North Korea’s failed satellite launch. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. declined with Hong Kong dragged lower by notable weakness in the local blue-chip tech stocks and following disappointing Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing PMI data in which the former printed at a second consecutive month in contraction territory and its weakest reading YTD.

Toyota (7203 JT) - Co. said further investigation of potential data leakage announced this month found that part of data containing customer information had been potentially accessible externally. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.66% at 4,291, FTSE 100 -1.38% at 7,522, DAX 40 -0.27% at 15,908, CAC 40 -1.29% at 7,209, FTSE MIB -0.16% at 26,575, IBEX 35 -0.14% at 9,167, SMI -1.27% at 11,289.

SECTORS: Utilities 0.82%, IT 0.53%, Consumer Disc -0.11%, Industrials -0.18%, Telecoms -0.64%, Financials -0.76%, Materials -1.19%, Healthcare -1.87%, Consumer Stpl -2.52%, Energy -2.62%

FTSE 100

Glencore (GLEN LN) - Glencore is said to be preparing a sweetened bid for Teck Resources (TECK), according to Bloomberg sources. The bid could be announced in the coming weeks. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

J.D. Wetherspoon (JDW LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Daimler Trucks (DTG GY) reiterated with Overweight from JPMorgan Chase

MorphoSys (MOR GY) reiterated with Buy at UBS - Shares seen opening +5.4%

CAC

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Co. announces positive data for frexalimab product to treat multiple sclerosis. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Enel (ENEL IM) - CEO is reportedly mulling a top management shakeup, which could see the CFO replaced, according to Bloomberg sources. (Newswires)

Heineken (HEIA NA) - Mexican beverage and retail company FEMSA announced the offering of around EUR 3.3bln worth of shares in Heineken Group, according to Bloomberg. (Newswires) Heineken said it has purchased EUR 333mln in shares from FEMSA at a price of EUR 92.75/shr (vs EUR 96.60 close on Tuesday). Impact on Heineken's net debt/EBITDA ratio is expected to be minimal. After the sale, FEMSA will no longer hold shares in Heineken. Heineken Holding's positions as controlling shareholder in Heineken will not be affected. (Newswires) 

Oil Names - WTI July and Brent August futures settled over USD 3/bbl lower apiece with analysts citing weak demand, while Chinese PMI data overnight were downbeat.

Miners/Luxury/China-exposed Names - Chinese NBS PMIs missed forecasts and deteriorated from the prior month. China's NBS said the economic activity level in China declined slightly in May, indicating the need to strengthen the foundation for recovery and development. (Newswires)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/ STLAP FP) - Co. announced the first Automotive Cells Company (ACC) battery gigafactory inaugurated in France - the first of three planned in Europe. This is part of a partnership with TotalEnergies (TTE FP) and Mercedes-Benz (MBG GY). "The gigafactory will contribute to Stellantis’ goal of increasing battery manufacturing capacity to 250 GWh in Europe by 2030." (Stellantis)

UCB (UCB BB) - Co. presented new long-term data on Bimekizumab. Bimekizumab demonstrated sustained joint and skin clearance responses to week 52. The most frequently reported adverse reactions with Bimekizumab were upper respiratory tract infections (14.5%) (most frequently nasopharyngitis) and oral candidiasis (7.3%). (UCB)

BROKER MOVES

Recordati (REC IM) initiated with Sector Perform at RBC

SMI

Credit Suisse (CSGN SW) - Co. reportedly drops plan for a local bank licence in China to avoid potential regulatory conflict arising from the merger with UBS (UBSG SW), according to Reuters. Separately, Wells Fargo (WFC) has reportedly hired Credit Suisse investment banker Jill Ford as head of its equity capital markets business, according to Bloomberg sources. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Handelsbanken (SHBA SS) - Co. is to sell its Finnish businesses for around USD 1.4bln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.00% at 4,205, NDX +0.40% at 14,354, DJIA -0.15% at 33,042, RUT -0.32% at 1,767.

SECTORS: Consumer Staples -1.08%, Energy -0.94%, Health -0.67%, Materials -0.59%, Utilities -0.39%, Industrials -0.23%, Communication Services -0.07%, Financials unch., Real Estate +0.27%, Technology +0.63%, Consumer Discretionary +0.76%.

Goldman Sachs (GS) - Co. reportedly preparing another round of layoffs amid the deal drought, according to WSJ citing sources, who suggest it could be fewer than 250 jobs. (WSJ)

HP Inc (HPQ) - Q2 2023 (USD): Adj. EPS 0.80 (exp. 0.76), Revenue 12.90bln (exp. 13.07bln). Sees Q3 Adj. EPS 0.81-0.91 (exp. 0.85). Sees FY Adj. EPS USD 3.30-3.50 (exp. 3.32). Sees FY FCF USD 3.0bln-3.5bln (exp. 3.32bln). (GlobeNewswire) Shares fell 4.3% after-market.

31 May 2023 - 06:45- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk