Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 3rd June 2024

3rd June 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks opened higher and then extended on gains as the region reacted to the softer-than-expected US Core PCE data on Friday alongside the prospect of a potential Israel-Hamas deal brokered by the US. The broader chip sector in the region was supported by NVIDIA CEO Huang stating the Co. is to upgrade its AI accelerators every year, later followed by an update from AMD at the Computex event in Taipei. ASX 200 saw its upside led by a broader strength across energy and financials, whilst Australia's Final Manufacturing PMI saw a modest revision higher from the prelim. Nikkei 225 briefly rose back above 39,000 with the upside also led by energy and financials, whilst capex data showed company profits surprisingly accelerated in Q1. India's Nifty 50 opened sharply higher by almost 3.5% at a record high after exit polls pointed to a landslide win by PM Modi. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed as the former soared at the open with heavyweight stocks Alibaba and Tencent among the top gainers, whilst the latter initially bucked the regional trend and lagged despite any major headlines aside from China stating it will not join the Swiss peace conference on Ukraine, although losses were briefly trimmed after the Chinese Final Manufacturing PMI was revised higher than expected.

BYD (002594 CH) - Sold 331,817 vehicles in May; sold 1,271,325 vehicles in Jan-May, +26.8% Y/Y. (Newswires)

Hyundai Motor America (005380 KS) - Total May Sales Of 78,485 units, +12% Y/Y. (Newswires)

Li Auto Inc (2015 HK/ LI) - Delivered 35,020 vehicles in May 2024, +23.8% Y/Y. Cumulative deliveries of Li Auto vehicles reached 774,571 as of the end of May 2024. (Newswires)

Nio Inc (9866 HK/ NIO) - Nio delivered 20,544 vehicles in May 2024,+233.8% Y/Y. Cumulative deliveries of Nio vehicles reached 515,811 as of May 31, 2024Deliveries consisted of 12,164 premium smart electric SUVs and 8,380 premium smart electric sedans. Delivered 66,217 vehicles year-to-date in 2024, +51.0% Y/Y. (Newswires)

Xpeng (9868 HK/XPEV) - Xpeng delivered 10,146 smart EVs in May, +35% Y/Y and +8% M/M. Year-to-date, Xpeng has delivered 41,360 smart EVs, +26% Y/Y. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: FTSE 100: +0.54% at 8,275.38, CAC 40: + 0.18% at 7,992.87, Euro Stoxx 50: -0.05% at 4,979.55, IBEX 35: -0.14% at 11,332.00, FTSE MIB: +0.13% at 34,492.41, AEX: -0.22% at 903.61, SMI: +1.19% at 12,011.06

SECTORS: Utilities 1.15%, Energy 1.13%, Healthcare 1.10%, Consumer Stpl 0.76%, Telecoms 0.60%, Financials 0.36%, Industrials -0.02%, Consumer Disc -0.04%, Materials -0.26%, IT -1.17%

FTSE 100

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) - Fusion Pharmaceuticals received the final court order approving the arrangement; pursuant to the plan, a wholly-owned subsidary of AstraZeneca will acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Fusion. Fusion shareholders will receive USD 21/shr in cash upfront on completion of the arrangement. Elsewhere, Enhertu demonstrated a median progression-free survival of 13.2 months in HR-positive, HER2-low and HER2-ultralow metastatic breast cancer following one or more lines of endocrine therapy. The safety profile of Enhertu was consistent with previous breast cancer clinical trials with no new safety concerns identified. Another story: Imfinzi is first and only immunotherapy to show survival benefit in limited-stage small cell lung cancer in global Phase III trial, reducing the risk of death by 27% vs. placebo. Elsewhere, Tagrisso reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 84% in patients with unresectable, Stage III EGFR-mutated lung cancer vs. placebo in LAURA Phase III trial. (Newswires / AstraZeneca)

GSK (GSK LN) - Delaware judge has allowed more than 70k lawsuits over Zantac to go forward. Regarding the ruling by the Delaware State Court on Zantac litigation will immediately seek an appeal. Elsewhere, Blenrep combination reduced the risk of disease progression or death by nearly 50% versus standard of care combination in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. (Newswires / GSK) Zantac ruling saw a Delaware judge rile that plaintiffs' scientific evidence can be heard, also potentially of note for Sanofi (SAN FP).

Haleon (HLN LN) - Disposal of the Chapstick brand completed. (Newswires)

London IPO - Online fashion Co. Shein, which was valued at USD 66bln in its last fundraising, will file a GBP 50bln London float this month, according to Sky News. (Sky News)

Next (NXT LN) - Harley-Davidson (HOG) is suing Next over claims that a t-shirt sold by the Co. is replicating its logo. (FT)

UK Stocks - Citi/YouGov UK inflation expectations: 1 year ahead 3.1% (prev. 3.3%, now the lowest since July 2021), 5-10 year at 3.2% (prev. 3.5%). (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG LN) – Blackstone is to improve its offer for the Co. from USD 1.30/shr to USD 1.31/shr, via FT citing sources; additionally, also working to change the offer to a “scheme of management”. (FT)

BROKER MOVES

St. James Place (STJ LN) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Evotec (EVT GY) - Evotec and Qiagen (QIA GY) enter into software collaboration for better insight into multi-omics data. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Commerzbank (CBK GY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Emirates Airline President says they will be back in debt markets to finance new Airbus A350s and does not rule out a new bond issue. Elsewhere, NTT Docomo and Space Compass partner with Airbus and commit to a USD 100mln investment in Aalto, an Airbus subsidiary. (Newswires)

French Stocks - S&P cut France to AA- from AA; Outlook stable; downgrade on deterioration of budgetary position. (Newswires)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Reportedly pushes ahead with a EUR 20bln consumer healthcare spin-off; Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will work with BNP Paribas & Bank of America on a sale, potential float expected to take place as soon as end of the year, according to the FT. (FT)

Thales (HO FP) - Co. has completed sale of its ground transportation system business; the impact of sale will be accounted for in Q2 2024. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Atos (ATO FP) - Two revised financial restructuring proposals were received as part of the conciliation process. EUR 450 million interim financing agreed with financial creditors. EUR 350 million of additional short-term financing is being negotiated as part of the submitted revised financial proposals. EUR 100 million revolving credit and term loan facilities to be provided by a group of bondholders have been received. EUR 50 million loan from the French State through the FDES. Potential acquisition by the French state of 100% of the Advanced Computing, Mission-Critical Systems and Cybersecurity Products activities of Atos SE. (Atos)

Casino (CO FP) - Sale of 90 shops to the Groupement Les Mousquetaires and Auchan Retail France; remaining 76 shops to be sold on 1 July 2024. (Newswires)

Ipsen (IPN FP) - Initiated a share buy-back program to cover its free employee share allocation plan of up to 400k shares. (Newswires)

Vallourec (VK FP) - Adre Lacerda appointed as Senior VP of South America Tubes acitivites. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Chip Names - NVIDIA (NVDA) CEO Huang stated the Co. is to upgrade its AI accelerators every year. CEO said on Sunday that the Co's next-generation artificial intelligence chip platform, called Rubin, would be rolled out in 2026, according to Reuters. Elsewhere, AMD (AMD) CEO unveiled new MI325X accelerator chip at Computex event in Taipei, to be available in Q4. 2024, AMD CEO said the Co. is aiming for an annual cadence for AI chips. (Newswires)

DSM Firmenich (DSFIR NA) - Takes strategic actions to strengthen its position as a leading creation and innovation partner in nutrition, health and beauty. Mid-term 2025 organic sales growth 5-7%, adj. margin 22-23%. (Newswires)

Airliners - IATA raises global airline industry profit forecast for 2024; to make a total USD 30.5bln (prev. guided 27.4bln in 2023). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Nestle (NESN SW) - CEO says the 50+ age group will increase significantly over the next 10/20 years for most nations, a dynamic which provides an opportunity for Nestle given the specific nutritional needs of that group. (FT)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Genmab (GMAB DC) - Preliminary Analysis of Data Evaluating Investigational Epcoritamab (DuoBody® CD3xCD20) Combination Demonstrates 95% Overall Response Rate in Patients with Previously Untreated Follicular Lymphoma. (Genmab)

BROKER MOVES

Avanza Bank (AZA SS) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.80% at 5,278, NDX -0.01% at 18,53, DJIA +1.51% at 38,686, RUT +0.66% at 2,070

SECTORS: Energy +2.49%, Real Estate +1.86%, Utilities +1.67%, Cons Stpl +1.46%, Health +1.41%, Financials +1.41%, Industrials +1.16%, Materials +1.09%, Communication Svs +0.56%, Cons Disc +0.15%, Technology flat

AMD (AMD) - CEO unveiled new MI325X accelerator chip at Computex event in Taipei, to be available in Q4 2024, AMD CEO said the Co. is aiming for an annual cadence for AI chips. (Newswires)

Arm (ARM) - CEO expects 100bln Arm devices globally ready to AI by end-2025. (Newswires)

NVIDIA (NVDA) - CEO Huang stated the Co. to upgrade its AI accelerators every year. CEO said on Sunday that the Co. next-generation artificial intelligence chip platform, called Rubin, would be rolled out in 2026, according to Reuters. (Newswires)

03 Jun 2024 - 06:51- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk