Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 5th April 2024

5th April 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks followed suit to the losses in the US amid geopolitical concerns and hawkish-leaning Fed rhetoric. ASX 200 suffered amid weakness in tech and mining stocks, while data showed a monthly contraction in Australian exports. Nikkei 225 retreated beneath 39,000 with intraday losses of around 1,000 points amid currency strength. KOSPI was dragged lower with Samsung Electronics pressured following its preliminary Q1 results in which operating EPS topped forecasts but it missed on revenue. Hang Seng conformed to the downbeat mood on return from holiday and with mainland markets still shut.

LG Electronics (066570 KS) - Prelim. Q1 (KRW) oper. 1.3tln (exp. 1.2tln). (Newswires) Shares rose 2%

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Prelim. Q1 (KRW) oper. profit 6.6tln (exp. 5.7tln), rev. 71.0tln (exp. 72.3tln). (Newswires) Shares fell 1.3%

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.16% at 18,404, FTSE 100: +0.48% at 7,976, CAC 40: -0.02% at 8,152, Euro Stoxx 50: -0.02% at 5,071, IBEX 35: +0.53% at 11,091, FTSE MIB: -0.02% at 34,475, SMI: +0.61% at 11,688.

SECTORS: Utilities 0.61%, Financials 0.43%, Consumer Disc 0.36%, Energy 0.34%, Materials 0.18%, Industrials 0.16%, Telecoms -0.14%, IT -0.19%, Consumer Stpl -0.22%, Healthcare -0.31%

FTSE 100

Experian (EXPN LN) - Co. is to acquire Illion in a proposed deal for up to AUD 820mln. Consideration to be funded from Experian's existing cash resources. In the first full year of ownership, they expect the acquisition to add revenues of circa AUD 175mln. (Newswires)

UK IPOs – Peel Hunt CEO Fine said he is “not convinced the IPO market is going to open soon” within London. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Boeing (BA) and Airbus are reportedly exploring a framework deal to divide the operations of Spirit AeroSystems (SPR), according to Reuters citing sources. (Reuters)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Bureau Veritas (BVI FP) - Wendel (MF FP), owning around 35.4% of Bureau Veritas’ share capital and around 51.6% of its voting rights, announces its intention to sell around 9% of Bureau Veritas’ share capital by way of an accelerated bookbuilding to institutional investors. (Globenewswire) Bureau Veritas is committed to acquiring circa 0.8% of its share capital as part of its announced transaction. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Defense Names - US indices saw heavy selling in late US trade amid concerns regarding Iran's response after warnings of a potential retaliatory attack on Israel within 48 hours and with Israel raising its alert level at embassies worldwide. US Defense stocks RTX and Lockheed Martin finished trade with gains of 1.8% and 1.4% respectively. (Newswires)

Grifols (GRF SM) - Grifols said it will reduce the number of measures used to reflect EBITDA in its earnings reports to two; consolidated EBITDA on a profit and loss basis and consolidated adj. EBITDA. (Newswires)

Eni (ENI IM) - The Board of Directors approved the possible issue of one or more bonds, to be placed with institutional investors, with a value up to a maximum aggregate amount of EUR 5bln, or its equivalent in other currencies, to be issued in one or more tranches by 31 March 2026. (Eni)

Raiffeisen Bank (RBI AV) - Announced a dividend of EUR 1.25/shr (prev. 0.80) for FY 2023. (Newswires)

Tech/Chip Names - Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) shares fell 1.3% after revenue missed expectations.

Terna (TRN IM) - Successfully issued a hybrid green perpetual bond worth EUR 850mln. "The issuance has been very successful in the market with a maximum demand of around 4 times the offer and orderbook over EUR 3bln". (Agenparl)

Tod's (TOD IM) - PE firm L Catterton (backed by LVMH) said on Thursday that it had received all the necessary approvals for its bid for Tod's, according to Reuters. (Reuters)

BROKER MOVES

Elia Group (ELI BB) initiated with Overweight at Morgan Stanley

SMI

Holcim (HOLN SW) - Co. has signed an agreement to acquire Tensolite, a leading manufacturer of innovative precast and pre-stressed concrete construction systems with USD 22mln of net sales in 2023 and a strong presence in fast-growing Latin American markets. (Holcim)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

SoftwareOne (SWONE SW) - All proxy advisors oppose the complete replacement of SoftwareOne's Board of Directors. (Newswires)

Swiss Steel Group (STLN SW) - Announced that its shareholders have approved all proposals, including the EUR 300mln capital increase proposed by the Board of Directors and the reduction of the nominal value of Swiss Steel's shares. (Sharewise)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

Carlsberg (CARLB DC) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.23% at 5,147, NDX -1.55% at 17,878, DJIA -1.35% at 38,596, RUT -1.08% at 2,053.

SECTORS: Technology -1.72%, Health -1.4%, Communication Services -1.39%, Financials -1.17%, Consumer Discretionary -1.16%, Materials -1.01%, Industrials -0.86%, Real Estate -0.77%, Consumer Staples -0.48%, Utilities -0.2%, Energy -0.06%.

Nike (NKE) - As of February 29th expect to recognise pre-tax charges of about USD 450mln. Nike's charges are primarily related to employee severance costs and accelerated stock-based compensation expenses. (Newswires)

05 Apr 2024 - 06:49- EquitiesResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk