Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 6th May 2021

The Daily European Equity Opening News is uploaded at 0700BST/0200EDT recapping all of the overnight equity news.

From 0700BST/0200EDT all equity news will be covered in real-time over the audio and headline feed and the full audio rundown will be at 0715BST/0215EDT.

There will be an additional audio rundown at 0750BST/0250EDT recapping any company news which has hit the wires since 0715BST/0215EDT ahead of the European equity open

European equity coverage will only cover companies in the STOXX 600 or companies of systemic importance to particular sectors.

ASIA

A mixed picture was observed in Asia-Pac stocks as the region took its cue from the indecision stateside where sentiment was clouded by disappointing data releases and the Nasdaq was dragged by weakness in tech and growth, although S&P 500 and DJIA remained afloat in which the latter posted a fresh intraday record with outperformance in the energy sector after Brent crude printed a fresh COVID-era high just shy of the USD 70/bbl level. ASX 200 (-0.7%) lagged after a couple of new COVID-19 cases were reported in NSW and with tech leading the declines across nearly all sectors aside from mining-related industries as underlying commodity prices benefitted from China’s return to the market. Furthermore, strong earnings from NAB failed to provide an uplift to the big 4 banks despite almost doubling its H1 cash profit, whereby its shares retreated from a yearly high, while Nikkei 225 (+1.8%) was boosted on reopen from the extended weekend on a foray above the 29,000 level and with the index underpinned by favourable currency flows. Hang Seng (Unch.) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.2%) were both initially positive as China reopened from the Labour Day holidays with notable gains in the blue-chip energy names and Budweiser APAC front-running the advances post-earnings, although the risk appetite then soured amid weakness in the ChiNext which slumped over 3% due to pressure across biological stocks after the US administration voiced support for a waiver of COVID-19 vaccine patents and following an announcement by the NDRC to suspend all activities under the China-Australia strategic economic dialogue mechanism indefinitely, citing Australia's disruption of cooperation with China.

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. developed an advanced chip packaging technology for high-performance applications. (Yonhap)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: EURO STOXX 50 +1.86% AT 3,999; FTSE 100 +1.70% AT 7,041; DAX +2.10% AT 15,168; CAC 40 +1.34% AT 6,335; IBEX 35 +1.65% AT 8,961; FTSE MIB +2.05% AT 24,469; SMI +1.26% AT 11,109

SECTORS: Materials +3.83%, IT +2.97%, Energy +2.86%, Industrials +2.43%, Financials +2.07%, Consumer Disc +1.80%, Telecoms +1.56%, Utilities +0.85%, Consumer Stpl +0.81%, Healthcare +0.63%

FTSE 100

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Balfour Beatty (BBY LN) - Co. is reportedly considering appointing Lord Allen as the next Chairman, who would succeed Aiken. The announcement could be made as soon as the AGM on May 13th. (Sky News)

Carnival (CCL LN) - Subsidiary Holland America is to recommence cruises to Greece as of August 2021, bookings will open today. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

NATIONAL GRID (NG/ LN) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT BERENBERG

DAX

Daimler (DAI GY) - Nissan (7201 JT) confirms the sale of a stake in Daimler. (Newswires) Follows the Co. stating pre-market yesterday that it would sell its 1.5% stake at a guide price of EUR 69.85/shr; Daimler shares finished lower by 0.4% yesterday

Fresenius (FRE GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 8.98bln vs exp. EUR 8.936bln. EBITDA EUR 1.63bln vs prev. EUR 1.76bln. Net EUR 435mln vs exp. EUR 434mln. Organic revenue -2% Y/Y. Co. affirms FY21 revenue growth guidance. (Newswires) 

Fresenius Medical Care (FME GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 4.21bln vs exp. EUR 4.23bln. Operating income EUR 474mln vs exp. EUR 460mln. Co. affirms its net guidance. (Newswires)

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 62.4bln vs exp. EUR 60.3bln. Operating profit EUR 4.81bln vs exp. EUR 4.15bln. Group outlook for operating return on sales for full year 2021 raised to 5.5-7.0% vs prev. 5.0-6.5%, expectations for net cash flow and net liquidity also raised. Deliveries up 21.2% Y/Y to 2.4mln vehicles, sales of electrified vehicles more than doubled to 133.3k units. Co. sees the chip shortage situations as more significant in Q2 vs Q1. Co. forecasts that the trend in the market for passenger cars will be mixed this year, determined by the containment of COVID. (Newswires/Volkswagen)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Evonik (EVK GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 3.36bln vs exp. EUR 3.295bln. Adj. EBITDA EUR 588mln vs exp. EUR 572mln. Net EUR 239mln vs exp. EUR 224mln. Co. affirms EBITDA and revenue guidance. (Newswires)

Zalando (ZAL GY) - Q1 revenue EUR 2.237bln vs exp. EUR 2.16bln, adj. EBIT EUR 93mln vs exp. EUR 36mln. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) EUR 3.2bln, +55.6%. Exceptional new customer growth with 41.8mln active users. Commencing a EUR 200mln share buyback programme. Upgrades FY21 guidance to revenue 26-31% vs prev. 24-29% and adj. EBIT to EUR 400-475mln vs prev. EUR 350-425mln. (Newswires) +4.0% in pre-market trade

BROKER MOVES

SIEMENS ENERGY (ENR GY) MAITNAINED WITH OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN

CAC

Dassault Systems (DSY FP) – Texelis has completed the deployment of the Co’s 3D-Experience platform to improve technological innovation. (Newswires)

SocGen (GLE FP) - Q1 revenue EUR 6.24bln vs exp. EUR 5.89bln. Fixed income revenue EUR 625mln vs exp. EUR 570mln (+51% Y/Y). Equities revenue +44% Y/Y. CET1 ratio 13.5% vs exp. 13.0%. (Globe Newswires)

Thales (HO FP) - Q1 revenue EUR 3.917bln vs exp. EUR 3.768bln. Underlying orders +31% Y/Y. Co. confirms guidance. CFO refrains from commenting on sources reports about offloading its rail signalling business for EUR 1.5bln. CFO says the chip shortage is "under control". (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Air France-KLM (AF FP) - Q1 revenue EUR 2.16bln vs exp. EUR 2.1bln. EBITDA EUR -627mln vs exp. EUR -750mln. Operating EUR -1.18bln vs exp. EUR -1.32bln. Liquidity stood at EUR 8.5bln as of March 31st. Q2 capacity seen at 50% of 2019 levels, Q3 capacity 55-65% of 2019 levels. Co. expects the start of Q2 to be similar to Q1. Co. sees H2 capacity gradually ramping up. Co. is mulling additional equity options to boost its balance sheet. (Newswires)

Elis (ELIS FP) - Q1 revenue EUR 658mln vs exp. EUR 671mln, confirms FY21 outlook. Hospitality activity -55% YY for Q1, did not see any rebound in international tourism activity for big cities. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

BNP PARIBAS (BNP FP) REITERATED WITH BUY AT JEFFERIES

PAN EUROPE

AB InBev (ABI BB) -Q1 revenue USD 12.29bln vs exp. USD 11.56bln. Adj. EBITDA USD 4.27bln vs exp. USD 4.10bln. Underlying EPS USD 0.55 vs exp. USD 0.56. Organic volume growth 13% vs exp. 7.3%. Co. names Michel Doukeris as its new CEO effective July 1st 2021. Co's Budweiser APAC (1876 HK) reported Q1 normalized profit attributable USD 236mln vs prev. loss USD 6mln Y/Y, revenue USD 1.6bln vs prev. USD 956mln Y/Y. (Newswires)

Atlantia (ATL IM) – Appia Investments and Silk Road, who hold an 11.9% stake in Autostrada, have filed a notice of claim contesting violations of representations of warranties and at present they cannot indicate the size of their claim. Separately, domestic motorway traffic over the last week +268% YY, Rome airport +590% YY; Spain +197%, France +155%. (Newswires)

Bpost (BPOST BB) - Q1 revenue EUR 1.02bln vs exp. EUR 1.06bln, net EUR 83mln vs exp. EUR 56mln, adj. EBIT EUR 115mln vs exp. EUR 77mln. Upgrades FY21 revenue view and confirms capex guidance. (Newswires)

Caixabank (CABK SM) - Q1 revenue EUR 2.06bln vs exp. EUR 2.076bln. NII EUR 1.19bln vs exp. 1.206bln. CET1 ratio 14.1% vs exp. 13.4%. ROE 6.6% vs prev. 4.5% Y/Y. (Newswires)

Endesa (ELE SM) - Q1 revenue EUR 4.99bln vs prev. EUR 5.07bln, EBITDA EUR 1.02bln vs prev. EUR 1.48bln, net profit EUR 491mln vs prev. EUR 844mln. FY21 guidance confirmed; exceptional Q1 conditions will normalise. (Newswires)

ING Groep (INGA NA) - Q1 revenue EUR 4.70bln vs exp. EUR 4.453bln. Net EUR 1.05bln vs exp. EUR 800mln. NII EUR 3.51bln vs exp. EUR 3.4bln. Underlying ROE 7.8% vs. prev. 5.1% Y/Y. NIM 1.46% vs prev. 1.51%. CET1 ratio 15.5% vs prev. 14.0% Y/Y. (Newswires)

UniCredit (UCG IM) - Q1 net EUR 887mln vs exp. EUR 430.2mln. Revenue EUR 4.69bln vs exp. EUR 4.29bln. Loan loss provision EUR 167mln vs exp. EUR 651.8mln. CET1 ratio 15.9%. CEO said net interest income will likely continue to face headwinds and the Co. may not benefit to the same extent in the future from the compensating positive factors seen in Q1. (Newswire)

BROKER MOVES

CNH INDUSTRIAL (CNHI IM) REITERATED WITH OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN

SMI

Credit Suisse (CSGN SW) - Co. has stopped custodian services for shares of cannabis companies with US operations, according to sources. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

GN Store Nord (GN DC) - Q1 revenue DKK 4.11bln vs exp. DKK 4.02bln, EBITA DKK 753mln vs prev. DKK 300mln, pre-tax profit DKK 612mln vs exp. DKK 640mln. Commencing a DKK 2.5bln share buyback programme through March 2022. Confirms upgraded FY21 guidance announced in April. GN Audio has continued its exceptionally strong momentum going into 2021. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL) - Q1 21 (USD): EPS 1.22 (exp. 1.01), Revenue 6.0bln (exp. 5.9bln). Total Payment Volume: 285bln (exp. 265.54bln), Forecasts 2021 TPV to increase about 30%. (Paypal) Shares rose 4.7% after-hours

Uber Technologies Inc (UBER) - Q1 21 (USD): EPS -0.06 (exp. -0.54), Revenue 2.90bln (exp. 3.28bln). Gross Bookings 19.54bln (exp. 18.07bln). Delivery Bookings 12.46bln (exp. 11.09bln). Mobility Bookings 6.77bln (exp. 6.74bln. Monthly Active Platform Consumers 98mln (exp. 100.2mln. (Business Wire) Shares fell 4.8% after-hours

CLOSES: SPX +0.09% AT 4,168, NDX -0.30% AT 13,503, DJIA +0.29% AT 34,230, R2K -0.52% AT 2,236

SECTORS: ENERGY +3.33%, MATERIALS +1.32%, FINANCIALS +0.94%, HEALTH +0.23%, INDUSTRIALS +0.13%, CONSUMER STAPLES -0.1%, TECHNOLOGY -0.16%, COMMUNICATION SVS. -0.27%, CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY -0.38%, REAL ESTATE -1.52%, UTILITIES -1.71%

06 May 2021 - 06:52- Fixed IncomeResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk