Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 5th December 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mixed and partially sustained the momentum from the fresh record levels on Wall St where tech led the advances with the help of earnings releases and softer yields following weak ISM Services data. ASX 200 eked slight gains with tech stocks taking inspiration from the outperformance stateside, while there was also an improvement in the latest trade and household spending data.Nikkei 225 gapped higher at the open but then gave back some of the initial spoils amid a choppy currency, while there was some intraday support seen after cautious rhetoric from BoJ's Nakamura although the momentum waned shortly after. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed with sentiment clouded after the PBoC's operations resulted in another net liquidity drain and with a recent article in Chinese state media downplaying the pursuit of fast growth ahead of next week's Central Economic Work Conference.

Chinese Housing - Fitch says Chinese homebuilders brace for another tough year in 2025. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +1.00% at 20,216, FTSE 100: -0.28% at 8,336, CAC 40: +0.66% at 7,303, Euro Stoxx 50: +0.83% at 4,919, AEX: +0.19% at 892, IBEX 35: +0.49% at 11,932, FTSE MIB: +0.75% at 34,084, SMI: -0.47% at 11,779, PSI: -0.47% at 6,376.

SECTORS: IT 2.03%, Consumer Disc 1.00%, Industrials 0.97%, Financials 0.55%, Consumer Stpl -0.09%, Materials -0.19%, Energy -0.63%, Telecoms -0.75%, Utilities -0.76%, Healthcare -0.80% 

FTSE 100

Anglo American (AAL LN) - BHP (BHP AU) President on Anglo American, said, growth is certainly a theme and it not fixated on internal or external growth. (Newswires)

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) - FDA approves durvalumab for limited-stage small cell lung cancer. (FDA)

Direct Line (DLG LN) - The FT writes that Direct Line investors are holding out for a higher bid after rejecting Aviva's (AV/ LN) USD 4.2bln bid. (FT)

Ex-dividends - Intermediate Capital Group (ICG LN), Next (NXT LN), British Land (BLND LN), will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend payout. (dividenddata)

FTSE Reshuffle - FTSE Russell confirmed that Games Workshop (GAW LN), St James's Place (STJ LN) and Alliance Witan (ALW LN) are to replace Frasers (FRAS LN), B&M European (BME LN) and Vistry (VTY LN) in the FTSE 100. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Bellway (BWY LN) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

Diageo (DGE LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

Intertek (ITRK LN) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

Taylor Wimpey (TW/ LN) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan

DAX

Allianz SE (ALV GY) - Amundi (AMUN FP) is in discussions to acquire Allianz Global Investors, seeking control of the asset manager amid ongoing consolidation in the industry, Bloomberg reports. Talks have been ongoing for months, with potential deal structures ranging from a full acquisition to a combination where Allianz retains a significant stake.

Commerzbank (CBK GY) - Says they are open to any proposal from shareholders, but so far have had no proposal from UniCredit (UCG IM). (Newswires)

German Economy - IW says Germany's economy remains in a crisis and is expected to only grow by 0.1% in 2025 after a 0.2% contraction this year, while Unemployment Rate is o rise to 6.2% in 2025 from 6.0% this year. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Aurubis (NDA GY) - FY (EUR): Pretax profit 413mln (exp. 421mln), Net cash flow EUR 537mln (prev. 537mln Y/Y). Will propose annual dividend of EUR 1.50/shr (prev. 1.40 Y/Y), at AGM on Apr. 3, 2025. (Newswires)

Bechtle AG (BC8 GY) / Woodside Energy Group (WDS) - Woodside signed a contract with Bechtel to develop its Louisiana LNG project, covering three production trains with a capacity of 16.5 MTPA. The final investment decision is expected in Q1 2025, with project costs estimated at between USD 900-960 per ton of LNG.

Linde (LIN GY) - Enters into 364-day revolving credit agreement; total commitments of USD 1.5bln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Auto1 (AG1 GY) upgraded to Overweight from Equalweight at Barclays

Puma (PUM GY) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Oddo

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Airbus will cut 2,043 jobs, with over half affecting its struggling space systems division, Bloomberg reports. The reductions will be spread across Germany (689 jobs), France (540), and the UK (477), with the space division losing 1,128 positions.

French stocks - French Government loses no-confidence motion; lawmakers voted 331 out of 574 current members in support of no-confidence motion. This was as expected. Thereafter, the next step goes to President Macron who could call a Presidential election (he has said he won't) or attempt to find another PM to form a majority around to deliver fiscal reform.

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Spie (SPIE FP) - Signs an agreement for the acquisiton of corporate software in Switzerland; transaction exp. to close in Q1'25. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Teleperformance (TEP FP) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan

PAN EUROPE

Crypto - Bitcoin prices rise to a fresh record high of USD 103k. This follows prior reports that US President-elect Trump picked crypto-backer Paul Atkins for SEC Chair.

Ferrovial (FER SM) - To pay additional interim cash dividend of EUR 0.0346/shr from Dec 27. (Newswires)

Luxury names - PVH fell 6.7% after disappointing guidance (details below).

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Chief's exit pay deal is to be below last year's EUR 36.5mln package, according to the FT. (FT)

UniCredit (UCG IM) - CEO told Bank of America investor call it has until March to consider whether to raise the price of Banco BPM's (BAMI IM) bid. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Randstad (RAND NA) reinstated with Neutral at JPMorgan

SMI

Novartis (NOVN SW) - Co. failed to convince a US appeals court regarding a generic version of Novartis' heart drug Entresto. (Newswires)

Roche (ROG SW) - FDA accepts supplemental biologics license application for Genentech’s Columvi combination for people with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma. The FDA is expected to make a decision on approval by July 20, 2025. (businesswire)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.61% at 6,086, NDX +1.24% at 21,492, DJIA +0.69% at 45,014, RUT +0.42% at 2,427

SECTORS: Energy -2.47%, Materials -0.89%, Financials -0.39%, Real Estate -0.3%, Consumer Staples -0.17%, Health -0.07%, Utilities +0.02%, Industrials +0.44%, Communication Services +0.62%, Consumer Discretionary +1.2%, Technology +1.77%.

Coty (COTY) - Coty and Swarovski signed a long-term agreement to enter the beauty market, focusing on fragrances and luxury products. The collaboration aims to launch its first offerings in 2026.

Disney (DIS) - Declares cash dividend of USD 1.00/shr (prev. USD 0.75), a 33% increase of the FY24 dividend. (Newswires)

Eli Lilly (LLY) - The UK NHS will begin a phased rollout of Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug Mounjaro. Due to cost concerns, it will initially be available to a small group of patients with the greatest need, Bloomberg reports. The full rollout will span 12 years, addressing rising drug costs.

PVH Corp (PVH) - Fell 6.7% after disappointing guidance. Q3 adj. EPS 3.03 (exp. 2.59), Q3 revenue USD 2.26bln (exp. 2.22bln). Q3 gross margin 58.4% (exp. 58.2%). Calvin Klein Q3 total revenue was -2.8% Y/Y at USD 993.9mln (exp. 1.0bln); Tommy Hilfiger Q3 total revenue -0.7% Y/Y at USD 1.20bln (exp. 1.16bln). Sees Q4 adj. EPS between 3.05-3.20 (exp. 3.69); narrows top-end of FY guidance, now sees FY adj. EPS between 11.55-11.70 (prev. 11.55-11.80), and still sees FY revenue down by 6-7% (exp. -4.6%).

05 Dec 2024 - 06:57- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk