Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 7th August 2023

7th August 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks began the week mostly negative following on from last Friday's late retreat on Wall St as Apple shares extended on their losses post-earnings and as the regional bourses react to the weaker NFP and firmer-than-expected US hourly earnings. ASX 200 (-0.3%) was marginally lower amid weakness in healthcare, financials and tech heading into a busy week of earnings including Australia's largest lender CBA which is set to report on Wednesday. Nikkei 225 (+0.2%) initially suffered from early selling pressure after it gapped beneath the 32,000 level at the open but then staged a recovery and returned back above the aforementioned key psychological level. Hang Seng (-0.2%) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.6%) conformed to the subdued mood with mixed fortunes in Chinese developers clouding over the gains in energy and with participants cautious heading into upcoming key releases including the trade data on Tuesday followed by inflation figures on Wednesday.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

Bourses: DAX +0.37% at 15,952, FTSE 100 +0.47% at 7,564, CAC 40 +0.75% at 7,315, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.71% at 4,335, IBEX 35 +0.66% at 9,368, FTSE MIB -0.41% at 28,586, SMI +0.14% at 11,103.

Sectors: Energy 1.85%, Financials 0.72%, Industrials 0.60%, Materials 0.59%, Utilities 0.30%, Consumer Disc 0.29%, IT 0.14%, Telecoms -0.03%, Healthcare -0.44%, Consumer Stpl -0.73%

FTSE 100

BP (BP/ LN) – Co. is planning to build two large offshore wind farms in UK waters without the use of government subsidies, in what is described as a “first for the sector”. Co. CEO said the project could start late next year and could have up to 214 turbines to power some 3.4mln households. (Times)

Banking Names - City of London calls on BoE to delay bank capital rules until mid-2025, according to the FT. (FT)

GSK (GSK LN) - Arexvy, the first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for older adults has been approved in Canada. (Newswires)

Natwest (NWG LN) - The Co. has begun looking for successors for ex-CEO Dame Alison Rose and a permanent appointment only once chair Howard Davis is replaced, according to the FT. In other news, the bank imposes new cash limits forcing customers towards a "cash-less society". (FT/Telegraph)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Rolls-Royce (RR LN) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan Chase

Unite Group (UTG LN) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

DAX

Bayer (BAYN GY) – Spending within the US on soliciting individuals with Roundup claims increased by 33% from May to June. (FT)

Daimler Trucks (DTG GY) – CFO Goetz has passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in a “tragic incident”, according to a Co. statement. No further details were provided. (Newswires)

Siemens Energy (ENR GY) - Q3 (EUR): Revenue 7.51bln (exp. 7.87bln). Net -2.05bln (prev. -222mln YY). Results were impacted by charges at Siemens Gamesa. Lowers FY23 Revenue guidance to between 9-11% (prev. 10-12%). Co. books USD 2.4bln in charges for wind turbine issues. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Aurubis (NDA FP) - 9M (EUR): EBT 207mln (prev. 793mln YY), Revenue 13bln (prev. 14.3bln YY). (Newswires)

OHB SE (OHB GY) – Announces a voluntary takeover offer by KKR for EUR 44/shr, executives support the offer. (Newswires) Follows: KKR reportedly intends to take the Co. private, via Bloomberg citing sources; on Monday, intends to announce an offer which would value the Co. at EUR 1bln.

Lufthansa (LHA GY) - On Thursday offered its pilots a pay rise of at least 25% for captains and between 33-50% for co-pilots, who have until August 10th to vote, according to FT citing internal memo. (FT)

Scout24 (G24 GY) - Raises EBITDA growth to 18-19%. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Carl Zeiss (AFX GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Boerse (DB1 GY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

K+S (SDF GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Teleperformance (TEP FP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

PAN EUROPE

EU Trade - EU trade chief Dombrovskis is to push China on barriers to exports and hopes to address very unbalanced ties after a surge in Chinese imports, according to FT. (FT)

PostNL (PNL NA) - Q2 (EUR): EBIT 18mln (exp. 7.8mln), Revenue 771mln (exp. 775mln). Raises FY23 Normalised EBIT 100-130mln (prev. 70-100mln). (Newswires)

Leonardo (LDO IM) - S&P upgrades rating to investment grade BBB- from BB+ with outlook stable. (Newswires)

Santander (SAN SM)/ Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY LN) – The banks are facing a GBP 1bln UK lawsuit over practices that pushed customers towards more expensive finance options. (City AM)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/ STLAP FP) - Stellantis is creating a budget-friendly electric vehicle priced under EUR 25,000, to rival Renault's Dacia Spring, Bloomberg reports. The automaker also intends to launch a Citroen e-C3 EV, produced in Slovakia, to compete against affordable EVs like Dacia Spring. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Sika (SIKA SW) - Acquires Chema for CHF 50mln, a leading manufacturer in Peru. Transactions are subject to clearance by local anti-trust authorities. (Newswires)

UBS Group (UBSG SW) - Plans to break up global Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) group and appoint new heads, according to Reuters sources. In other news, around 80% of Credit Suisse investment banking staff in Hong Kong will be laid off as part of integration with UBS, with layoffs starting this week. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Aker Solutions (AKER NO) - Competition authorities approve subsea joint venture between SLB, Subsea7 and the Co. (Newswires)

Bavarian Nordic (BAVA DC) - Reports positive Phase 3 topline results for Chikungunya Virus vaccine in adults and adolescents. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

DNB (DNB NO) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

Maersk (MAERSKB DC) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Danske Bank

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.53% at 4,478, NDX -0.51% at 15,274, DJIA -0.43% at 35,065, RUT -0.20% at 1,957.

SECTORS: Technology -1.49%, Utilities -1.2%, Consumer Staples -1.02%, Real Estate -0.99%, Industrials -0.65%, Financials -0.42%, Health -0.36%, Communication Services -0.31%, Materials -0.26%, Energy +0.03%, Consumer Discretionary +1.91%.

Banking Names - US regional banks reportedly struggle to break free from government life support with with lenders still tapping hundreds of billions of dollars of funding that supported the industry during the recent crisis, according to FT. (FT)

07 Aug 2023 - 06:53- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk