Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 4th April 2024

4th April 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks traded higher as sentiment picked up from the choppy mood and mixed data releases stateside, despite thinned conditions with markets across Greater China shut for the Qingming Festival. ASX 200 was led by strength in gold miners after the precious metal rose above USD 2,300/oz for the first time. Nikkei 225 outperformed and spent most of the session above the 40,000 level with the help of a predominantly weaker currency. KOSPI was boosted by tech strength with Samsung underpinned ahead of its preliminary earnings results on Friday with its profit seen to rise to the largest in six quarters on higher chip prices, while SK Hynix was lifted amid plans to invest USD 3.9bln to build an Indiana plant.

Holidays - Markets in China and Hong Kong are Closed for the Qingming Festival. Hong Kong returns tomorrow, Mainland China will return for Monday trade.

SK Hynix (000660 KS) - Co. is to invest USD 3.87bln in Indiana, US to build an advanced packaging plant and R&D facility for AI products and is to start mass production in 2028. (Newswires)

Vedanta (VEDL IS) - Q4 alumina production at Lanjigarh refinery rose 18% Y/Y to 484k tons, mined metal output rose 11% Q/Q to 299k tons, total saleable steel production fell 11% Y/Y to 343k tons. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.50% at 18,374, FTSE 100: +0.03% at 7,937, CAC 40: +0.29% at 8,153, Euro Stoxx 50: +0.29% at 5,068, IBEX 35: +0.52% at 11,032, FTSE MIB: +0.45% at 34,481, SMI: +0.15% at 11,613.

SECTORS: IT 1.06%, Energy 0.93%, Materials 0.69%, Financials 0.55%, Telecoms 0.44%, Industrials 0.39%, Healthcare 0.37%, Consumer Disc 0.33%, Utilities -0.38%, Consumer Stpl -0.97%

FTSE 100

Ex-Dividend - InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG LN), Mondi (MNDI LN), IMI (IMI LN), Rentokil (RTO LN) and Smiths Group (SMIN LN) will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend payout. (dividenddata)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Morgan Stanley named Rio Tinto as a top pick, suggesting its robust balance sheet gives it flexibility to pursue growth and increase shareholder return. (Newswires)

Shell (SHEL LN) - Co. is said to be seeking a longer-term license from the US before making a final investment decision on the Venezuelan Dragon natural gas project, according to Reuters sources. Shell has initially proposed a 15-year license, sources added. (Reuters)

Miners - 3M LME copper extended its 52-week high overnight to 9,383.50/t.

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Mercedes-Benz (MBG GY) – Co. rejected UAW allegations about the carmaker's "anti-union" campaign in its Alabama factory. (Reuters)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

L'Oreal (OR FP) - Co. eyes a stake in the EUR 3bln perfume brand Amouage, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Saint-Gobain (SGO FP) - Co. is to acquire "The Bailey Group of Companies", a leading Canadian manufacturer of commercial metal framing and building systems, for CAD 880mln in cash. (businesswire)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Co. is to settle 4,000 Zantac cancer lawsuits in US state courts. Sanofi did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. The agreement, which still needs to be finalized, will resolve most of the lawsuits in US state courts, albeit except in Delaware, where the majority of the cases are pending. (WSJ/Bloomberg/Reuters)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

ASML (ASML NA)/ASM International (ASM NA)- A group of eight firms led by ASML yesterday asked the Dutch parliament to back policies that will boost the Dutch chip industry, including retaining tax breaks on investment and skilled labour. (Reuters) 

Auto Names - UK new car sales +10% Y/Y in March, according to prelim data via SMMT. (Reuters)

Defense Names - Russia's Foreign Ministry said Russia-NATO relations are getting worse, dialogue channels reduced to "critical zero level", according to RIA. (Newswires)

Solvay (SOL BB) - Receives positive mention from David Einhorn, president of Greenlight Capital, who said the stock at double its current price wouldn't be expensive. (Newswires)

Snam (SRG IM) - Co. exercised its pre-emption right to increase its stake in Italy's largest LNG terminal, Adriatic LNG, to 30% from 7.3%. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

UBS (UBSG SW) - The Swiss regulator is reportedly seeking to block litigation investors from accessing Credit Suisse AT1 files, according to FT sources. (FT)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

SoftwareOne (SWON SW) - The Board of SoftwareOne Holding has been backed by proxy adviser Glass Lewis. (Reuters)

BROKER MOVES

Holcim (HOLN SW) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.11% at 5,211, NDX +0.21% at 18,160, DJIA -0.11% at 39,127, RUT +0.54% at 2,076.

SECTORS: Communication Services +0.71%, Energy +0.66%, Materials +0.63%, Industrials +0.51%, Consumer Discretionary +0.22%, Technology +0.11%, Real Estate +0.06%, Financials -0.08%, Health -0.1%, Utilities -0.42%, Consumer Staples -1.1%.

AbbVie (ABBV) - Said adjusted non-GAAP earnings for Q1FY24 are expected to include IPR&D and milestone expenses of USD 164mln on a pre-tax basis. Sees Q1 adj. diluted EPS range (including IPR&D and milestone expense) at 2.18-2.22 (exp. 2.33). Sees FY24 diluted EPS range (including IPR&D and milestone expense) at 10.97-11.17 (exp. 11.19). (Newswires)

Boeing (BA) - 737 MAX production has fallen sharply in recent weeks as FAA steps up factory audits, according to Reuters sources; the rate fell as low as a single-digit number of jets per month in late March. (Newswires)

ExxonMobil (XOM) - Co. sees change in gas prices to negatively impact Q1 upstream earnings by USD 0.2bln-0.6bln vs Q4. Sees change in liquids prices to impact Q1 upstream earnings by flat to USD 0.4bln vs Q4, change in industry margins to positively impact 1Q24 energy products results by USD 0.5bln-0.7 bln vs Q4, change in industry margins to positively impact Q1 speciality products earnings by flat to USD 0.2bln vs Q4. change in timing effects to negatively impact Q1 energy products earnings by USD 0.9bln-1.3bln vs Q4. (Newswires)

Google (GOOG) - Co. is looking at options including adding certain AI-powered search features to its premium subscription services, according to FT. (FT)

Levi Strauss & Co (LEVI) - Q1 2024 (USD): Adj. EPS 0.26 (exp. 0.21), Revenue 1.6bln (exp. 1.55bln); raises FY EPS guidance Adj. net income 102.7mln (exp. 83.7mln). Gross margin 58.2% (prev. 55.8% Y/Y). (Levi IR)

Walt Disney’s (DIS) - Iger won a proxy vote over Peltz with the board’s election; all 12 nominees were re-elected to the board. (Newswires)

04 Apr 2024 - 06:45- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk