Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 8th February 2022

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

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

There will be an additional audio rundown at 0750GMT/0250EST recapping any company news which has hit the wires since 0715GMT/0215EST 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

Asia-Pac markets traded mixed following the choppy price action in US where the major indices stumbled into the close on what was a catalyst-lite session with newsflow dominated by geopolitical headlines amid US-Germany and Russia-France talks, despite the lack of any major fresh developments. ASX 200 (+0.9%) was led higher by strength in mining-related stocks and with the top-weighted financials sector also underpinned after earnings updates from Macquarie and Suncorp. Nikkei 225 (+0.5%) was supported by favourable currency flows and following an agreement with the US to roll back Trump-era steel tariffs on a quota of Japanese steel products, but with upside limited after disappointing data including the miss on Household Spending and Labour Cash Earnings, while SoftBank shares were indecisive after reports its USD 66bln deal to sell Arm to Nvidia collapsed although it will receive a breakup fee and is to offload the unit through an IPO by year-end. Hang Seng (-1.4%) and Shanghai Comp. (-0.7%) were pressured with Hong Kong announcing tighter COVID-19 restrictions and amid US-China related frictions in which WuXi Biologics slumped more than 30% and its shares were halted after the inclusion of two units in the US ‘unverified’ list, while tech was also subdued with the ChiNext board now eyeing a bear market.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: EURO STOXX 50 +0.8% at 4,120, FTSE 100 +0.8% at 7,573, DAX 40 +0.7% at 15,206, CAC 40 +0.8% at 7,009, FTSE MIB -1.0% at 26,328, IBEX 35 -0.4% at 8,558, SMI +0.4% at 12,187.

SECTORS: Basic Materials 1.72%, Financial Services 1.28%, Telecoms 0.96%, Healthcare 0.87%, Industrials 0.82%, Technology 0.77%, Consumer Goods 0.47%, Energy 0.40%, Consumer Services -0.21%, Utilities -0.99%

FTSE 100

Shell (SHEL LN) - Co. is to develop the next phase of onshore natural gas in Queensland, Australia, for both domestic customers and exports. (Newswires)

TUI (TUI LN) - Q1 2022 (EUR): Revenue 2.37bln (prev. 468mln). Underlying EBIT -273.6mln (prev. -675.8mln). Net -386.5mln (prev. -790.3mln). Co. notes of strong booking momentum across all markets with new bookings for summer 2022 now above pre-crisis levels. Tui expects a strong summer 2022. Average prices +22% Y/Y; holidaymakers are spending more money on travel. "The path out of the pandemic is becoming increasingly clear. Demand for travel is high across all markets." (Newswires/ TUI IR)

Vodafone (VOD LN) - Iliad has made a bid for Vodafone's Italian unit, according to sources; no value has been touted. (Newswires) Note, this was reported heading into Monday's European close

UK Energy Providers – Households will, from next week, be paid to reduce their energy usage by 40-60% during peak two-hour windows. If electricity reduction goals are attained, a payment of GBP 0.35/kWh could be paid. (Guardian)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

BAE Systems (BA/ LN) resumed with Buy at Jefferies

JD Sports (JD/ LN) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Exane BNP

Rolls-Royce (RR/ LN) resumed with Hold at Jefferies

St James' Place (STJ LN) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

WH Smith (SMWH LN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Exane BNP

DAX

Deutsche Bank (DBK GY) - Co. is reportedly eyeing the expansion of the bank’s wealth management unit across the Southeastern US to cater to the ultra-rich, according to reports. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

MTU Aero Engines (MTX GY) initiated with Buy at Jefferies

Siltronic (WAF GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

CAC

BNP Paribas (BNP FP) - Q4 2021 (EUR): Revenue 11.23bln (exp. 11.30bln). Net income 2.31bln (exp. 2.05bln). Co. has raised its payout ratio of net income to 60% from 50%. Co. aims to be Europe's top equity player. FICC revenue fell 24.6% Y/Y from a "high base" and "in a challenging market". Equity & Prime Services revenue rose by 17.4% Y/Y. (Newswires/BNP Paribas IR)

EDF (EDF FP) - Co. narrowed its FY22 guidance on nuclear generation to between 295-315 Terawatt-hour (TWh) from 300-330TWh. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Airbus (AIR FP) initiated with Buy at Jefferies

AXA (CS FP) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Schneider Electric (SU FP) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Citi

Thales (HO FP) initiated with Hold at Jefferies

PAN EUROPE

Banca Monte dei Paschi (BMPS IM) - Q4 2021 (EUR): Revenue 720.3mln (exp. 725mln). Net -78.6mln (prev. -154.5mln Y/Y). CET1 ratio 11% (prev. 10.9% Q/Q). NII 323mln (prev. 312mln Y/Y). (Newswires)

Chip Names – EU Commission President von der Leyen will unveil the EU Chips Act, which will include investment of EUR 11bln for a public-private R&D partnership, hoping to secure EUR 15bln for the fund; including national government research and microchip investment the total is EUR 43bln. Additionally, state aid rules will be softened and a new mechanism will be announced allowing the EU to pressure manufacturers into maintaining chip supply, even amid shortages. (Politico)

Oil Drilling/Exploration - Six North Sea oil and gas fields are reportedly set to get the green light this year, according to sources. (Telegraph)

Repsol (REP SM) - Co. is reportedly looking to sell its Duvernay basin assets in Canada, according to Reuters sources, who suggest it could fetch USD 590mln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Banco Sabadell (SAB SM) reiterated with Overweight at JPMorgan Chase

CaixaBank (CABK SM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

AMS (AMS SW) - Q4 2021 (USD): Net 136mln (prev. 173mln). Revenue 1.41bln (prev. 1.62bln) Co. highlights supply chain instability in the auto market; overall backlog remains supportive. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Aker Solutions (AKSO NO) - Q4 2021 (NOK): Revenue 8.7bln (prev. 6.88bln). EBITDA 593mln (exp. 492mln). C. raises FY22 revenue guidance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: S&P 500 -0.4% at 4,483, Nasdaq 100 -0.8% at 14,571, Dow Jones +0.0% at 35,090, Russell 2000 +0.2% at 2,006.

SECTORS: Energy +1.3%, Financials +0.3%, Consumer Staples +0.1%, Industrials +0.1%, Real Estate -0.1%, Health -0.1%, Utilities -0.2%, Consumer Discretionary -0.2%, Materials -0.4%, Technology -0.7%, Communication Services -2.2%.

Nvidia (NVDA) - SoftBank (9984 JT) deal to sell Arm unit to Nvidia collapses amid serious concerns on effect to competition, according to sources cited by FT. (FT) These sources were subsequently confirmed. Softbank is reportedly planning an IPO for Arm. (Newswires)

Tesla (TSLA) - Co. cut a steering component from some cars to deal with the chip shortage, according to CNBC citing sources. (CNBC)

08 Feb 2022 - 06:47- Data- Source: Newsquawk