Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 8th December 2023

8th December 2023

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks eventually traded mostly higher but with gains limited as sentiment remained cautious heading into the incoming US NFP jobs report and after the recent BoJ speculation. ASX 200 (+0.3%) finished marginally higher although trade was choppy as weakness in financials and tech was offset by resilience in the commodity-related sectors, in particular, energy following confirmation of early merger talks between Woodside Energy and Santos to form an AUD 80bln Australian gas giant. Nikkei 225 (-1.8%) underperformed amid pressure from a firmer currency after speculation that the BoJ could exit NIRP sooner than thought with markets pricing around a 20% chance they could lift rates at the December meeting, while a downward revision in Japan’s Q3 GDP to a deeper annualised contraction of -2.9% (exp. -2.0%) also clouded over the risk tone. Hang Seng (+0.2%) and Shanghai Comp. (+0.3%) just about shrugged off the early indecision amid a lack of fresh drivers with the downside cushioned after the PBoC conducted a net liquidity injection for the first time this week.

Tencent (700 HK) - Prosus (PRX NA) reduces stake in Co. to <25% representing 514k shares. (Newswires)

XPeng (9868 HK) - Cuts prices for Model P71 from December 8th-17th. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX -0.16% at 16,628.99, FTSE 100 -0.02% at 7,513.72, CAC 40 -0.10% at 7,428.52, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.21% at 4,473.65, IBEX 35 -1.09% at 10,146.00, FTSE MIB -0.67% at 30,121.77, SMI -0.30% at 10,968.10.

SECTORS: Materials 0.63%, Utilities 0.38%, Industrials -0.12%, Financials -0.20%, IT -0.21%, Consumer Stpl -0.25%, Telecoms -0.32%, Consumer Disc -0.35%, Energy -0.36%, Healthcare -0.85%

FTSE 100

Shell (SHEL LN) – Sees a USD 5bln investment opportunity within Nigeria and has pledged spending of USD 1bln over 5/10-years to bolster nat gas output in the region, according to Nigeria’s Presidency citing a Co. executive. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Darktrace (DARK LN) - Investors have pushed back against Mike Lynch's involvement in the Co, who is facing a fraud trial in the US. 57% of shareholders voted against the election of Patrick Jacob as a non-executive director over connection to Lynch, according to The Times. (The Times)

BROKER MOVES

Kingspan (KGP LN) initiated with Neutral at Citi

J Sainsbury (SBRY LN) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs

DAX

Merck (MRK GY) - Unit Emd Serono receives US FDA supplement 7 approval for Mavenclad. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

MTU Aero Engines (MTX GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

Nemetschek (NEM GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

Siemens Energy (ENR GY) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Cathay Pacific placed an order to purchase six Airbus A350 freights with a list price of USD 2.71bln to replace Boeing (BA) 747 cargo jets. (Newswires)

Worldline (WLN FP) - Co. is to be replaced by Vivendi (VIV FP) in the CAC 40; effective from 18th December 2023 (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Alstom (ALO FP) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

Airbus (AIR FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank

Rexel (RXL FP) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

Rexel (RXL FP) initiated with Buy at TD Cowen

Safran (SAF FP) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

PAN EUROPE

Prysmian (PRY IM) - Awarded EUR 100mln contract from Petrobras. (Newswires)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) says it will temporarily cut one shift at a Detroit SUV factory, citing the California emissions regulations. (Newswires)

Semiconductor Names - Morgan Stanley upgrades the Semiconductor sector to Attractive from In-Line. (Newswires)

Telecom Network Operators – Vodafone (VOD LN), EE (BT/A LN), Three (0001 HK) and O2 (TEF SM) are facing a GBP 3bln+ class action claim, alleging that market dominance was used to overcharge around 28mln UK mobile contracts. If the lawsuit succeeds, affected consumers could receive as much as GBP 1.8k. (Sky News)

BROKER MOVES

Elia (ELI BB) - Guides initial FY24 Net EUR 335-385mln. ROE 7-8%; Affirms financial policy and provides mid-term targets. (Newswires)

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Flughafen Zurich (FHZN SW) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

AB SKF (SKFB SS) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

Ericsson (ERICB SS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

Epiroc (EPIA SS) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

Nokia (NOKIA FH) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies

Sandvik (SAND SS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

Trelleborg (TRELB SS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Danske Bank

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.80% at 4,585, NDX +1.48% at 16,022, DJIA +0.17% at 36,117, RUT +0.87% at 1,868.

SECTORS: Communication Services +3.22%, Technology +1.28%, Consumer Discretionary +0.9%, Materials +0.67%, Financials +0.4%, Consumer Staples +0.32%, Real Estate +0.09%, Industrials +0.06%, Health -0.08%, Utilities -0.24%, Energy -0.61%.

Boeing (BA) - Is to slow 737 production ramp-up by about two months based on the new supplier master schedule, according to Reuters sources; 737 production of 42 planes per month is now expected for February '24 instead of December '23. (Newswires)

Broadcom Inc (AVGO) - Q4 2023 (USD): Adj. EPS 11.06 (exp. 10.98), Revenue 9.30bln (exp. 9.41bln); raises quarterly dividend 14.1% to 5.25/shr (prev. 4.60). Semiconductor solutions revenue 7.33bln (exp. 7.27bln). Infrastructure software revenue 1.97bln (exp. 1.94bln). Guides initial FY24 revenue view 50bln (exp. 45.8bln). Expects to take charges of approximately USD 1.3bln through FY2025 for implementation of cost-reduction activities; will provide details of VMW acquisition related restructuring costs as part of its financial reporting. Shares fell -0.6% in after-hours trade

Tesla (TSLA) - Replaces Head of Dojo supercomputer project, according to Bloomberg sources. (Bloomberg)

08 Dec 2023 - 06:52- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk