Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 9th May 2024

9th May 2024

ASIA

APAC stocks were mixed as the region took its cue from the indecisive performance stateside owing to mixed earnings and as markets await the next major catalysts, while the somewhat mixed but improved Chinese trade data had little impact. ASX 200 was dragged lower by underperformance in consumer stocks and financials with the latter pressured after Australia's largest lender CBA reported a decline in profits. Nikkei 225 recovered from an early dip with trade contained as participants digested BoJ rhetoric and soft wages. Hang Seng & Shanghai Comp were underpinned amid resilience in the tech sector and after China's eastern city of Hangzhou lifted all home purchase restrictions, although there were headwinds from default concerns as Country Garden Holdings (2007 HK) failed to make coupon payments on a yuan-denominated bond due today but still has a grace period.

CBA (CBA AT) - Co. quarterly (AUD) cash NPAT 2.4bln (prev. 2.6bln Y/Y), Common Equity Tier 1 ratio 11.9%, loan impairment expense 191mln. (Newswires)

Country Garden Holdings (2007 HK) - Co. said it cannot make payment on a yuan-denominated bond, while Co. aims to pay onshore coupons due today and additional interests by May 13th. Co. said if it fails to make payments within the grace period, China Bond Insurance Co. will undertake credit enhancement obligations, and it is still raising funds due to sales recovery lagging expectations. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.31% at 18,488.07, FTSE 100: +0.49% at 8,354.05, CAC 40: +0.69% at 8,131.41, Euro Stoxx 50: +0.46% at 5,039.15, IBEX 35: +0.65% at 11,153.00, FTSE MIB: -0.27% at 34,151.41, SMI: +0.73% at 11,597.41.

SECTORS: Consumer Stpl 1.29%, Industrials 1.04%, Healthcare 0.52%, Utilities 0.45%, Financials 0.10%, Telecoms -0.01%, Consumer Disc -0.16%, Energy -0.19%, IT -0.30%, Materials -0.31%

FTSE 100

Ex-Dividends - Admiral Group (ADM LN) and HSBC (HSBA LN) will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts. (dividenddata)

Prudential (PRU LN) – Co. has shut down its Hong Kong wealth unit, Pulse Wealth, as it aims to streamline its business. (Newswires)

UK Housing - UK RICS Housing Survey* (Apr) -5.0 vs. Exp. -2.0 (Prev. -4.0, Rev. -5). RICS said the recent recovery in buyer demand stalls somewhat with a flatter picture cited this month. Buyer demand is reportedly flat, while near-term sales expectations soften slightly. National house prices remain stable, with twelve-month projections still in expansionary territory. New listings coming onto the market continue to rise. (RICS)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

John Wood Group (WG/ LN) – Sidara said the non-binding proposal was rejected by John Wood Group and is considering the next step. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Vonovia (VNA GY) – Co. approved dividend of EUR 0.9/shr at AGM; Bohle elected to supervisory board. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Argenx (ARGX BB) – Q1 (USD): Net Income -61.59mln (exp. -45mln), Op. expenses -506mln (prev. -334mln Y/Y). (Newswires)

BBVA (BBVA SM)/Sabadell (SAB SM) - BBVA launched an all-share offer for Sabadell. The offer is formulated as a share exchange. The consideration offered by the offeror to shareholders of the target company consists of 1 newly issued ordinary share of the offeror for every 4.83 ordinary shares of the target company. This transaction is positive in EPS from the first year after the subsequent merger, by around 3.5%. Will maintain its current shareholder's distribution policy and its commitment to distribute any excess capital above 12%. Tangible book value per share improves by around 1% on the date of the merger. Limited impact on CET1 ratio of approx. -30bps. Closing of the deal is expected to take around 6-8 months once regulatory authorisations are approved. (Newswires)

Bper (BPE IM) – Q1 (EUR): Net profit 457.3mln (prev. 290.7mln Y/Y), NII 843.6mln (prev. 726.5mln Y/Y). Confirms FY guidance. CEO said bank is well ahead of its business plan in 2024 and is considering the option to possibly update or revise it. (Newswires)

China-exposed Stocks - Chinese Trade Balance USD (Apr) 72.35B vs. Exp. 77.5B (Prev. 58.55B), Imports Y/Y (Apr) 8.4% vs. Exp. 4.8% (Prev. -1.9%), Exports Y/Y (Apr) 1.5% vs. Exp. 1.5% (Prev. -7.5%).

Chip Stocks - Arm Holdings (ARM) shares tumble 9% after hours despite topping Q4 estimates, with desks citing lacklustre annual guidance. (Reuters/Bloomberg)

Fertiliser Stocks - The world's largest fertiliser maker, Nutrien, suggested demand has been strong in the US and sales will further be aided by better conditions in Brazil later this year - framed as a "potential turnaround for crop-nutrients sector" which had seen falling prices, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Fincantieri (FCT IM) – Vard, a Norwegian subsidiary of the Fincantieri Group and among the leading companies in the construction of specialized vessels, and Island Offshore, a Norwegian shipping group operating in the Oil and Gas and Renewable market, have signed a contract for the design and construction of one state-of-the-art hybrid-powered Ocean Energy Construction Vessel (OECV). The parties have also agreed on an option for two more vessels. (Fincantieri)

Nexi (NEXI IM) – Q1 (EUR): EBITDA 461.7mln (prev. 333.1mln Y/Y), Revenue 781.6mln (prev. 737.5mln Y/Y). Launches buyback programme for up to EUR 500mln. Confirms FY guidance. (Newswires)

PKO (PKO PW) - Q1 (PLN) - Net Profit 2.04bln (exp. 1.85bln), NII 5.19bln (exp. 5.19bln). (Newswires)

Proximus (PROX BB) – Completes acquisition of a majority stake in route mobile. (Newswires)

Prysmian (PRY IM) – Q1 (EUR): Revenue 3.83bln (exp. 3.74bln, prev. 4.17bln Y/Y). Net Profit 185mln (prev. 182mln Y/Y), Adj. EBITDA 412mln (exp. 360mln, prev. 388mln Y/Y). Confirms FY24 guidance announced in Feb and expects to achieve the upper end of the range. (Newswires)

Telecom Italia (TIT IM) – The CEO said no reason to believe Grid deal with KKR will not be closed in the foreseen timeframe. Potential additional benefits worth almost EUR 5bln from the new business plan, could in part be used for dividends and actions to accelerate growth. Co. is hopeful negotiations for the sale of the Sparkle unit could be concluded shortly. (Newswires)

Telefonica (TEF SM) – Q1 (EUR): Revenue 10.14bln, +0.9% Y/Y (exp. 10.1bln), Adj. EBITDA 3.21bln, +1.9% Y/Y (exp. 2.73bln). Results are on track to meet 2024 guidance. Confirms 2024 dividend of EUR 0.30/shr to be paid in cash. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI - Closed for Ascension Day

ABB (ABBN SW) – Co. and Niedax to create JV to meet the growing demand for cable tray systems in North America; transaction subject to customary closing conditions and expected to close in Q4’24. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Temenos (TEMN SW) – All resolutions except 1.3 and 5.4 were approved at the AGM; shareholder concerns focused on the compensation report. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA - Closed for Ascension Day

Nokia (NOKIA FH) – Turkcell and Nokia signed an agreement to deliver developer-created use cases. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.00% at 5,187, NDX -0.04% at 18,085, DJIA +0.44% at 39,056, RUT -0.46% at 2,055.

SECTORS: Utilities +1.05%, Financials +0.4%, Technology +0.23%, Industrials +0.03%, Energy -0.12%, Communication Services -0.17%, Consumer Staples -0.27%, Health -0.33%, Consumer Discretionary -0.41%, Materials -0.44%, Real Estate -0.9%.

Arm Holdings Inc (ARM) - Q4 2024 (USD): Adj. EPS 0.36 (exp. 0.30), Revenue 928mln (exp. 875.6mln). GUIDANCE: Q1 revenue 875-925mln (exp. 857.5mln). Q1 adj. EPS 0.32-0.36 (exp. 0.31). FY25 adj. EPS 1.45-1.65 (exp. 1.54). FY25 revenue 3.8-4.1bln (exp. 3.99bln). COMMENTARY: Strong tailwinds heading into FY25. AI is driving increased demand for Arm-based technology across all end markets. There is now expanded support for generative AI accessible to all devices using the Arm platform. (Newswires) Shares fell 9% after-market

Airbnb Inc (ABNB) - Q1 2024 (USD): EPS 0.41 (exp. 0.24), Revenue 2.14bln (exp. 2.06bln). Gross booking value USD 22.9bln (exp. 22.32bln). Adj. EBITDA USD 424mln (exp. 326.3mln). Sees Q2 rev. USD 2.68bln-2.74bln (exp. 2.74bln). (PR Newswire) Shares fell 8.4% after-market

09 May 2024 - 06:52- Fixed IncomeResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk