Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 8th March 2024

8th March 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks took impetus from the fresh record levels on Wall Street amid dovish tailwinds. ASX 200 printed a fresh record high as the top-weighted financial industry led the gains seen in most sectors. Nikkei 225 initially approached just shy of 40,000 but with gains capped after disappointing Household Spending. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. were somewhat varied as the Hong Kong benchmark conformed to the upbeat mood, while the mainland was less decisive amid lingering tech-related frictions between the US and China.

TSMC (2330 TT) - February (TWD) rev. rose 11.3% Y/Y to 181.7bln but was lower by 15.9% M/M

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.14% at 17,868.25, FTSE 100: +0.17% at 7,692.46, CAC 40: +0.77% at 8,016.22, Euro Stoxx 50: +1.19% at 4,974.05, IBEX 35: +1.20% at 10,319.60, FTSE MIB: +0.16% at 33,418.68, SMI: +0.22% at 11,571.30.

SECTORS: IT 2.76%, Healthcare 2.31%, Materials 1.57%, Utilities 0.95%, Consumer Stpl 0.55%, Industrials 0.53%, Financials 0.45%, Consumer Disc 0.34%, Energy -0.26%, Telecoms -0.32%

FTSE 100

Frasers (FRAS LN) - Co. has placed Matchesfashion into administration, after purchasing it for just over GBP 50mln in December, via Sky News citing sources. (Sky News)

Mondi (MNDI LN) - Agrees in-principle to buy DS Smith (SMDS LN) at a value of GBP 373p/shr (prev. close 325.20p). (Newswires)

UK outflows - British savers withdrew GBP 24.3bln in 2023 (prev. outflow 26.9bln Y/Y) from funds, according to The Times, which cited the cost of living crisis. (The Times)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Hellofresh (HFG GY) - FY23 (EUR): Revenue 7.6bln (exp. 7.64bln), adj. EBITDA 448mln (exp. 437mln). Guides initial FY24 Revenue +2-8%. Guides Q1 Revenue in line with growth seen in 2023 (towards the lower end of FY24 target). Unlikely that Co. will meet mid-term business plans previously announced of Revenue at EUR 10bln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Deutsche Lufthansa (LHA GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Center for Financial Research & Analysis

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Reports February deliveries of 49 and gross orders of 2, Deliveries to date 79 (prev. 66). (Newswires)

Alstom (ALO FP) - Received EUR 800mln order for 103 MF19 new gen metros to modernise the Paris region network. (Newswires)

CAC 40 changes - Accor (AC FP) is to replace Alstom (ALO FP) in the CAC40 index. (Newswires)

Vivendi (VIV FP) - FY23 (EUR): Revenue 10.51bln (exp. 14.91bln, prev. 9.60bln Y/Y), EBITA 934mln (prev. 868mln), Earnings group share 405mln (prev. loss 1.01bln); first few months of 2024 confirm the continued positive trends of the activities of its main business. Continuation of the study of the feasibility of the split project. Proposal to distribute an ordinary cash dividend of 0.25/shr, in respect of FY 2023, identical to the dividend paid last year. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Rubis (RUI FP) - FY23 (EUR): EPS 3.42 (prev. 3.16 Y/Y), Revenue 6.6bln (exp. 6.3bln). Names new CFO, effective immediately. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Flughafen Zurich (FHZN SW) - FY23 (CHF): Net 340mln (exp. 287mln, prev. 207mln Y/Y), EBITDA 677mln (exp. 673mln), Revenue 1.24bln (exp. 1.21bln). Guides initial FY24 Net & EBITDA "higher Y/Y". Guides initial FY24 passengers approx. 30mln. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +1.03% at 5,157, NDX +1.56% at 18,297, DJIA +0.34% at 38,791, RUT +0.81% at 2,084.

SECTORS: Technology +1.89%, Communication Services +1.84%, Materials +1.22%, Consumer Discretionary +0.87%, Industrials +0.83%, Energy +0.78%, Utilities +0.61%, Health +0.49%, Consumer Staples +0.49%, Real Estate -0.05%, Financials -0.15%.

Autos - Three US Senators urge President Biden to hike tariffs on Chinese imported autos saying they could endanger American automotive manufacturing, according to a letter. (Newswires)

Broadcom (AVGO) - Despite decent metrics in the quarter, shares slipped afterhours by 3.2%, with reports suggesting that investors were disappointed after the chipmaker left FY24 guidance unchanged. Q1 adj. EPS 10.99 (exp. 10.29), Q1 revenue USD 11.96bln (exp. 11.72bln), Q1 adj. EBITDA 7.16bln (exp. 6.59bln). Q1 semiconductor solutions revenue USD 7.39bln (exp. 7.7bln), infrastructure software revenue USD 4.57bln (exp. 4.33bln). Exec said strong demand for networking products in AI data centers, custom AI accelerators from hyperscalers, and driven growth in semiconductor segment. AVGO sees around USD 7bln of its AI chip revenue in 2024 coming from helping two major clients design custom AI chips - analysts speculate these clients are Google (GOOG) and Meta (META). Said it has begun to pay down debt, starting with USD 3bln to date in 2024, and expects to continue to pay down debt in FY24. Maintains FY24 revenue guidance, sees USD 50bln (exp. 50.03bln), and sees FY24 adj. EBITDA at approx. 60% (exp. 59.2%). (Newswires)

Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) - Q2 2024 (USD): EPS 3.92 (exp. 3.62), Revenue 58.44bln (exp. 59.16bln). (Newswires)

Marvell Technology (MRVL) - Shares were 7.5% lower afterhours following soft guidance. Q4 adj. EPS 0.46 (exp. 0.46), Q4 revenue USD 1.43bln (exp. 1.42bln). Announced a USD 3bln stock repurchase authorisation. Q4 data centre revenue USD 765.3mln (exp. 752mln); exec said AI drove strong growth in the data centre segment. Sees Q1 adj. EPS between USD 0.18-0.28 (exp. 0.40), Q1 net revenue at USD 1.15bln (exp. 1.37bln), and Q1 adj. gross margin between 62%-63% (exp. 63.6%). Exec said in Q1, expects continued sequential growth in data centre revenues. Adds that "while we are forecasting soft demand impacting consumer, carrier infrastructure, and enterprise networking in the near term, we expect revenue declines in these end markets to be behind us after Q1, and project a recovery in H2". Said it was scheduling its "Accelerated Infrastructure for the AI Era" event on April 11th. (Newswires)

NYCB (NYCB) - Moody's changes the direction of NYCB (NYCB) rating review to upgrade from downgrade. (Newswires)

United Airlines (UAL) - Flight 35 landed safely at LAX after losing a tire following take-off from San Francisco. (Newswires)

08 Mar 2024 - 06:47- Data- Source: Newsquawk