Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 5th December 2023

5th December 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks declined following the mostly negative lead from Wall St where the major indices were choppy and ultimately weighed amid a rebound in yields ahead of key data releases. ASX 200 (-0.9%) was led lower by the commodity-related industries with underperformance in gold miners after the precious metal faded the recent surge, while sentiment was also not helped by weak data and after the unsurprising RBA rate decision in which the central bank kept rates unchanged and reiterated its forward guidance. Nikkei 225 (-1.1%) continued to weaken and slipped below the 33,000 level despite softer-than-expected Tokyo inflation data. Hang Seng (-0.8%) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.6%) retreated which saw the latter test the 3,000 level to the downside amid lingering frictions after China criticised the US for seeing it as a threat following calls by Commerce Secretary Raimondo for more funds to back chip curbs, while encouraging Caixin Services PMI data which printed a 3-month high at 51.5 (exp. 50.7) only provided a brief tailwind.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX +0.04% at 16,404.76, FTSE 100 -0.22% at 7,512.96, CAC 40 -0.18% at 7,332.59, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.09% at 4,414.75, IBEX 35 +0.37% at 10,178.30, FTSE MIB -0.05% at 29,914.09, SMI +0.60% at 10,952.44.

SECTORS: Consumer Stpl 0.63%, Healthcare 0.60%, Financials 0.38%, Utilities 0.32%, Consumer Disc 0.28%, Telecoms 0.25%, Industrials -0.34%, IT -0.93%, Materials -1.12%, Energy -1.51%

FTSE 100

Barclays (BARC LN) - Sees Qatar selling about 362mln shares in Barclays, offering price guidance between 141.00-142.98p per share, according to Bloomberg citing terms. This will see Qatar Investment Authority cutting its stake to 2.4% (prev. 5%). (Bloomberg/The Telegraph)

UK Retail Sales - BRC Retail Sales YY (Nov) 2.6% vs. Exp. 2.5% (Prev. 2.6%). (BRC)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

British Land (BLND LN) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs

Land Securities (LAND LN) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs

DAX

Brenntag (BNR GY) - Targets FY27 Organic EBITA 7-9% Y/Y, Organic Gross Profit 4-7% Y/Y. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Carl Zeiss Meditec (AFX GY) initiated with Underweight at JP Morgan -3.0% in pre-market trade

Hapag-Lloyd (HLAG GY) initiated with Underweight at Barclays

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Might need Government backing for a new aircraft programme to replace the Airbus A320 jets, via FT. (FT)

Renault (RNO FP) -To invest an additional BRL 2bln in Brazil, where the investment will target a new SUV. (Newswires)

L'Oreal (OR FP) - Acquires Lactobio; no terms disclosed. (Newswires)

TotalEnergies (TTE FP) – Signed three cooperation agreements with Petrobras in Brazil, Socar in Azerbaijan and Sonangol in Angola for methane detection and measurement. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Gecina (GFC FP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

Sanofi (SAN FP) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

PAN EUROPE

OMV (OMV AV) - To enter negotiations with bidders for potential SapuraOMV stake sale, expect a high three-digit million Dollar figure based on offers received so far. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Adyen (ADYEN NA) initiated with Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

Pirelli (PIRC IM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS

UCB (UCB BB) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

SMI

Roche (ROG SW) - Roche announces positive Phase III results for inavolisib combination in people with advanced hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer with a PIK3CA mutation. (Roche)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Straumann (STMN SW) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

SCANDINAVIA

Ericsson (ERICB SS)/Nokia (NOKIA FH) - AT&T (T) has selected Ericsson to construct a telecom network employing ORAN tech, aiming to cover 70% of US wireless traffic by late 2026; will drop Nokia. ORAN aims to reduce costs by using cloud-based software and diverse suppliers, unlike proprietary equipment from Nokia, Ericsson, and Huawei. On the plans, Nokia says: it now expects revenue from AT&T in Mobile Networks will decrease over the next 2-3 years. Is aware of AT&T's plans to commit to an Open RAN deployment in collaboration with other vendors over the next five years. (Newswires)

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) – CEO said they will be studying data around obesity and the Select trial to understand who develops obesity and what characterises them, in the context of potentially designing the first drugs to prevent obesity. (FT)

Wartsila (WRT1V FH) - To introduce four methanol engines to its portfolio. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Equinor (EQNR NO) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sal Oppenheim

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.54% at 4,569, NDX -0.99% at 15,839, DJIA -0.11% at 36,204, RUT +1.04% at 1,882.

SECTORS: Real Estate +0.54%, Health +0.21%, Industrials +0.2%, Consumer Staples +0.1%, Financials unch., Utilities -0.39%, Energy -0.46%, Consumer Discretionary -0.46%, Materials -1.19%, Technology -1.31%, Communication Services -1.37%.

05 Dec 2023 - 06:49- Data- Source: Newsquawk