Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 9th April 2024

9th April 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mostly higher but with price action relatively rangebound with global markets lacking any major catalysts ahead of upcoming risk events. ASX 200 was led by miners but with gains capped after weak consumer sentiment and a mixed business survey. Nikkei 225 continued to benefit from recent currency weakness with USD/JPY lying in wait for a retest of 152.00. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. were varied with the Hong Kong benchmark lifted although the psychologically key 17,000 level continued to elude. Conversely, the mainland lagged after another tepid PBoC liquidity operation, while Premier Li recently noted uncertainty and complexity in the external environment are rising.

NetEase (9999 HK/NTES) - Co. is expected to announce the return of Blizzard's games to the Chinese market on April 10th

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.77% at 18,314, FTSE 100: +0.41% at 7,943, CAC 40: +0.72% at 8,119, Euro Stoxx 50: +0.37% at 5,045, IBEX 35: -0.04% at 10,912, FTSE MIB: +0.90% at 34,316, SMI: +0.47% at 11,549.

SECTORS: Energy 1.03%, Materials 0.85%, Industrials 0.79%, Consumer Disc 0.71%, IT 0.55%, Financials 0.40%, Utilities 0.20%, Healthcare 0.15%, Telecoms -0.05%, Consumer Stpl -0.25%

FTSE 100

HSBC (HSBC LN) - Co. to sell its business in Argentina to Grupo Financiero Galicia for a consideration of USD 550mln and will recognise a USD 1.0bln pre-tax loss in Q1 for the deal. The transaction is expected to be completed within the next 12 months. HSBC said there would be an insignificant impact on the group's CET1 ratio, while it continues to target ROTE in the mid-teens for 2024, excluding the impact of notable items. The group's dividend payout ratio target remains at 50% for the year. (Newswires)

BAE Systems (BA/ LN)/Rolls-Royce (RR/ LN) - Australian PM Albanese said there are no plans to expand the membership of AUKUS beyond Australia, the UK, and the US. (Newswires) Note: Last month, the UK said its SSN-AUKUS submarines will be built by BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce. Australia selected ASC Pty Ltd and BAE Systems to build Australia’s SSN‑AUKUS submarines.

Mining Names - LME copper prices hit their highest in over 14 months amid demand from momentum following strong economic data, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, Citi sees copper prices trending higher to average USD 10k/tonne by Q4 24 and USD 12k/tonne in 2026 in their base case. (Newswires)

Retail Names - Barclays said UK March consumer spending rose 1.9% vs prev. 1.9% increase in February and is the joint-smallest increase since September 2022. UK BRC Total Sales Y/Y (Mar) 3.5% (Prev. 1.1%), Y/Y (Mar) 3.2% (Prev. 1.0%). (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Scout24 (G24 GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

CAC

Atos (ATO FP) - Atos seeks EUR 1.2bln in new funds in its restructuring plan, according to a statement. Co. said it needs EUR 600mln of cash to fund the business in 2024 and 2025; the refinancing framework also includes EUR 300mln new revolving credit facility and EUR 300mln in additional bank lines. Intends to raise funds via debt and equity from existing stakeholders and third parties. Atos aims to come to an agreement by July 2024. The remaining debt maturities are to be extended by five years. The agreement will cause a significant dilution of existing shareholders. 2024 Guidance: Revenue 9.9bln (exp. 10.5bln). (Newswires) It was initially reported that Atos will seek at least EUR 1bln in new funds and aims to cut its debt in half, according to Bloomberg citing a restructuring plan presented to creditors last Monday. (Bloomberg)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

EssilorLuxottica (EL FP) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

PAN EUROPE

Arcadis (ARCAD NA) - Co. has been selected as one of four strategic design partners in a programme worth GBP 2.8bln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

UBS (UBSG SW) - UBS is said to mull a Credit Suisse China stake swap with Beijing's government, according to Bloomberg. UBS is said to be proposing buying the 33% stake held by Beijing in its JV, and in return, UBS will sell part or the entirety of its 51% holding in Credit Suisse Securities China, sources said. (Bloomberg)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.04% at 5,202, NDX -0.05% at 18,100, DJIA -0.03% at 38,892, RUT +0.50% at 2,073.

SECTORS: Real Estate +0.82%, Consumer Discretionary +0.75%, Utilities +0.64%, Financials +0.39%, Materials +0.03%, Communication Services -0.02%, Consumer Staples -0.18%, Industrials -0.21%, Technology -0.32%, Health -0.38%, Energy -0.63%.

Tesla (TSLA) - Co. has settled the case over the fatal 2018 crash of an Apple (AAPL) engineer, according to the Washington Post. (Washington Post) CEO Musk said the chip supply shortage has ebbed in the AI race. (Newswires)

09 Apr 2024 - 06:45- EquitiesEconomic Commentary- Source: Newsquawk