Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 4th December 2023

4th December 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks traded mixed with an early positive bias after last Friday’s gains on Wall St owing to a decline in yields amid increased Fed rate cut bets for next year despite the pushback from Fed Chair Powell, although the upside was capped in the region after quiet macro newsflow from the weekend and ahead of this week’s key events including central bank rate decisions and a slew of data releases culminating with the latest US NFP report. ASX 200 (+0.8%) was higher with gains led by the yield-sensitive sectors such as tech and real estate, while gold miners were boosted after the precious metal initially surged above USD 2,100/oz and printed a fresh record high before fading the majority of the initial spike. Nikkei 225 (-0.6%) lagged and briefly approached the 33,000 level to the downside with pressure from recent currency strength. Hang Seng (-0.6%) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.2%) traded indecisively as PBoC Governor Pan’s repeated support pledges were offset by a substantial net liquidity drain and geopolitical frictions in the South China Sea, while attention was also on Evergrande’s windup hearing in a Hong Kong court which was adjourned to January 29th and gives the Co. some breathing space to work on its restructuring proposal.

China's Evergrande (3333 HK) - Liquidation hearing adjourned to January 29th. (Newswires)

Origin Energy (ORG AT) Reject Brookfield and EIG USD 10.6bln bid on proxy votes, while the Chairman says the scheme was not approved and Co. will continue as an independent ASX listed Co. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX +1.12% at 16,397.52, FTSE 100 +1.01% at 7,529.35, CAC 40 +0.48% at 7,346.15, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.79% at 4,417.25, AEX +0.83% at 771.37, IBEX 35 +0.82% at 10,140.80, FTSE MIB +0.64% at 29,928.45, SMI +0.37% at 10,894.50.

SECTORS: Materials 2.11%, IT 1.40%, Industrials 1.29%, Telecoms 1.03%, Healthcare 0.90%, Financials 0.90%, Utilities 0.79%, Consumer Disc 0.72%, Energy 0.59%, Consumer Stpl 0.53%

FTSE 100

Airliners - Big airliners may lose their grip on UK take-off and landing slots, as the Government aims to achieve "smoother getaways and cheaper prices", according to The Telegraph. (The Telegraph)

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) – Co. has signed a deal with Absci Corp., worth as much as USD 247mln to design an antibody to combat cancer. (FT)

LSE Group (LSEG LN) - Insurer Aspen, owned by Apollo (APO), plans a USD 4bln IPO in New York during 2024, bypassing London due to valuation concerns and stricter listing rules, FT reports. The move follows a trend of companies favouring US listings. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DS Smith (SMDS LN) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

Rolls-Royce (RR LN) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

Softcat (SCT LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC

Wizz Air (WIZZ LN) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank

DAX

Continental (CON GY) - Co. is under pressure to find an EV path as it is attempting to turn around its struggling automotive unit, via Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Sixt (SIX2 GY) - To remove Tesla (TSLA) cars from the fleet, citing higher repair costs for EVs that hurt resale values, according to Bloomberg. The Co. still aims to electrify as much as 90% of its fleet in Europe by the end of the decade, according to a spokesperson. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Banking Names – ECB’s McCaul (Supervisory) says she believes the ECB could do more to strengthen the hand of risk managers, adding that regulators are happy with how banking rules are operating in Europe. (FT)

Chip Names - Dutch PM Rutte will be visiting the US to discuss chip cooperation, via Sputnik. (Sputnik)

Elia (ELI BB) - To acquire a 35.1% stake in energyRe Giga Projects. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Acciona (ANA SM) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BNP Paribas

BBVA (BBVA SM) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette

IMCD (IMCD NA) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

SMI

Roche (ROG SW) - Roche enters into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Carmot Therapeutics, including three clinical stage assets with best-in-class potential in obesity and diabetes; under the terms of the agreement, Roche will pay a purchase price of USD 2.7bln upfront and additional milestone payments of up to USD 400mln. In other news, PsychoGenics Announces Exclusive Global License for an IND-Ready ENT1 Inhibitor for the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders. (Roche)

Swiss Life (SLHN SW) - Patrick Frost to step down as CEO, effective 15th May 2024. (Newswires)

UBS (UBS SW) - Looking to find a potential CEO replacement for Sergio Ermotti within the next three years, via Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Swisscom (SCMN SW) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

SCANDINAVIA

Vestas Wind Systems (VWS DC) - Co. and DTEK signs MoU on Ukraine's largest wind energy project. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Jyske Bank (JYSK DC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SEB

SSAB (SSABA SS) initiated with Hold at Jefferies

TietoEvri (TIETO FH) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SEB

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.59% at 4,594, NDX +0.31% at 15,997, DJIA +1.82% at 36,245, RUT +2.96% at 1,862.

SECTORS: Real Estate +2.11%, Industrials +1.57%, Consumer Discretionary +1.27%, Utilities +1.25%, Materials +1.09%, Financials +0.74%, Energy +0.48%, Consumer Staples +0.38%, Health +0.36%, Technology +0.17%, Communication Services -0.23%.

04 Dec 2023 - 06:45- Exclusive- Source: Newsquawk