Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 6th April 2023

6th April 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks were mostly subdued amid headwinds from the US where further weak data releases added to the economic slowdown concerns and with risk appetite also restricted as global markets approach the Easter holiday period, albeit with the downside stemmed as participants digest the latest Chinese Caixin Services PMI data which showed an acceleration in services activity. ASX 200 (-0.4%) was marginally lower as weakness in the tech and real estate sectors just about overshadowed the resilience in defensives and with trade data showing a monthly drop in both imports and exports. Nikkei 225 (-1.3%) resumed the prior day’s underperformance amid some speculation of a potential policy shift by the BoJ soon as the Kuroda era comes to an end this week and with former BoJ Director Momma suggesting the recent drop in global bond yields has created favourable conditions for the BoJ to scrap its YCC this month. Hang Seng (-0.1%) and Shanghai Comp. (Flat) were lacklustre after a substantial liquidity drain by the PBoC and amid frictions related to Taiwan President Tsai’s meeting in the US with members of Congress including House Speaker McCarthy although losses were minimal following the strong Chinese Caixin Services and Composite PMI data. Elsewhere, the Nifty (+0.2%) pared losses with mild support after the RBI surprised with its decision to keep rates unchanged but maintained its policy stance of remaining focused on the withdrawal of accommodation and Governor Das also noted that the decision for a pause is for this meeting only.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: EURO STOXX 50 -0.39% at 4,298, FTSE 100 +0.37% at 7,662, DAX 40 -0.53% at 15,520, CAC 40 -0.39% at 7,316, FTSE MIB -0.59% at 26,867, IBEX 35 +0.78% at 9,254, SMI +0.38% at 11,115.

SECTORS: Healthcare 1.79%, Utilities 1.66%, Consumer Stpl 1.18%, Telecoms 1.08%, Energy 0.48%, Financials -0.23%, Consumer Disc -1.01%, Materials -1.39%, IT -1.48%, Industrials -2.00%

FTSE 100

Ex-Divs - Barratt Developments (BDEV LN), Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT LN), F&C Investment Trust (FCIT LN), ConvaTec Group (CTEC LN), Rentokil Initial (RTO LN) & Smiths Group (SMIN LN) will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

International Distributions Services (IDS LN) - In a letter, Royal Mail directors warned the CWU union that nationalisation is not guaranteed if strikes put the company's finances under pressure. (Telegraph)

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Allianz (ALV GY) - Co. does not plan on renewing its Nord Stream 1 pipeline policy after it expires in late 2023. (Newswires) Earlier in the week, Reuters reported that Allianz (ALV GY) and Munich Re (MUV2 GY) have renewed coverage for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, according to sources

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Accor (AC FP) - Fitch raises rating to investment grade, to "BBB-" from "BB+"; outlook stable. (Newswires)

TotalEnergies (TTE FP) - Co. extends price freeze to all fuels in stations at a maximum of EUR 1.99/L until stations no longer have supply difficulties. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Ipsen (IPN FP) - CEO said the Co. has around EUR 4.0bln for deals through 2024, and aims for around six-to-eight deals per annum to boost the pipeline. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Accor (AC FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

Amundi (AMUN FP) reiterated with Overweight at JPMorgan Chase

PAN EUROPE

BPER (BPE IM) - Fitch raises rating to investment grade, to "BBB-" from "BB+"; outlook stable. (Newswires)

Pirelli (PIRC IM) - Pirelli has delayed its shareholder meeting to June 29th as the Italian government reviews the governance agreement with Pirelli's top shareholder, Sinochem (37% stake). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Telenet (TNET BB) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

Universal Music Group (UMG NA) downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Exane BNP

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Givaudan (GIVN SW) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan Chase

SCANDINAVIA

Clas Ohlson (CLASB SS) - March Revenue SEK 623mln (-2% Y/Y). Organic sales +1.0% Y/Y. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.25% at 4,090, NDX -1.01% at 12,967, DJIA +0.24% at 33,482, RUT -0.99% at 1,752.

SECTORS: Consumer Discretionary -2.04%, Industrials -1.3%, Technology -1.19%, Real Estate -0.54%, Materials -0.22%, Communication Services -0.22%, Financials -0.15%, Consumer Staples +0.55%, Energy +1.42%, Health +1.72%, Utilities +2.57%.

06 Apr 2023 - 06:47- Fixed IncomeEconomic Commentary- Source: Newsquawk