Jan 31 ,2024
Synopsis:
European equity markets closed mostly lower with the exception of Spain +0.4%, Greece +0.9% and Denmark +2.3%. Follows positive close Tuesday. Best performing sectors were Auto/Parts, Utilities and Real Estate. Retail and Technology notable underperformers.
Macro data focus in Europe shifts to preliminary CPI releases. German CPI posted lowest annual pace since mid-2021. French CPI eases but still ahead of consensus. Big miss in German retail sales, while unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped. More upbeat UK survey data, with Lloyds business confidence index at highest January level in eight years. UK Jan Nationwide House Prices reading came in at +0.7% m/m vs consensus +0.1% and prior 0.0%; Nationwide noted encouraging signs from potential buyers as mortgage rates trend lower, along with shift in expectations on future path of BoE rates. Further, London Times reported on Lloyds Bank monthly business confidence, which recorded the highest January level for eight years at 44%, up nine points from 35%. It is the strongest start to the year since 2016 as UK firms anticipate lower inflation and prospect of BoE rate cuts.
UK Chancellor Hunt plays down tax cut expectations after IMF calls on government to shore up public finances.
A busy morning for earnings kicked off with results from DACHs region companies Novartis (NOVN.SW) reporting Q4 core EPS $1.53 vs consensus $1.60, hiking divi by 3.1%, FY24 and updating medium-term forecast and ATOSS Software (AOF.GR) reporting FY EPS €4.50 vs FactSet €4.02 and expecting FY24 revenues of €170M vs FactSet €169.9M. In the Nordics, Novo Nordisk (NOVO.B.DC) reported Q4 EPS DKK4.91 vs consensus DKK4.65, hiked divi by ~52%, announced a DKK20B buyback and guides FY24. Company also issued Strategic Aspirations 2025 and sees more than DKK 25B in Obesity sales by 2025. Also out with Q4 results from the Nordics are H&M (HM.B.SS), SSAB (SSAB.A.SS), SKF (SKF.B.SS), DNB (DNB.NO), Wartsila (WRT1V.FH) and Holmen (HOLM.B.SS). Of note, H&M also announced that CEO Helena Helmersson would step down and appointed Daniel Ervér as new President and CEO as of today. In Southern Europe, Banco Santander (SAN.SM) reported Q4 underlying net income attributable €2.93B vs FactSet €2.65B and Safilo Group (SFL.IM) is out with preliminary FY revenue €1.02B vs FactSet €1.02B. Elsewhere, GSK (GSK.LN) reported Q4 EPS 28.9p vs FactSet 29.0p and raised growth outlooks. Corbion (CRBN.NA) presented strategic development update on 'Advance 2025' in connection with its CMD and introduced updated targets for the 2024-25 and reported prelim. FY earnings. SEB (SK.FP) reported Q4 revenue €2.47B vs FactSet €2.51B.
Digest:
Sectors - STOXX Europe 600:
Outperformers:
Autos & Parts +1.06%, Utilities +1.01%, Real Estate +0.99%, Basic Resources +0.79%, Health Care +0.45%, Travel & Leisure +0.37%, Financial Svcs +0.33%, Insurance +0.27%, Banks +0.06%
Underperformers:
Retail (2.29%), Technology (0.62%), Media (0.60%), Consumer Products and Services (0.59%), Energy(0.34%), Ind Goods & Svcs (0.32%), Telecom (0.31%), Construct & Mtls (0.11%), Personal Care Drug and Grocery Stores (0.06%), Food, Beverage and Tobacco +0.00%
Macro:
ECB:
UK:
UK unveils DUP deal to restore Northern Ireland government - Reuters
UK business confidence at highest January level for eight years - London Times
UK Chancellor Hunt warns tax cuts may be smaller than expected - London Times
Another upbeat UK house price number, but dynamics still weak - Nationwide Building Society
Portugal:
Foreign tourism to Portugal beats pre-COVID record in 2023 - Reuters
Spain:
Company news:
Notable Gainers
+24.5% ITM.LN (ITM Power £0.60, +0.12) -- reports H1 EPS from continuing ops. (3.0p) vs FactSet (3.6p) [1 est]
+15.9% MCAP.SS (MedCap SEK380.00, +52.00) -- Q4 earnings
+14.4% HEM.SS (Hemnet Group SEK281.00, +35.40) -- reports Q4 EPS SEK0.96 vs year-ago SEK0.55; hikes dividend by +20% to SEK 1.2/share
+11.9% BEIJ.B.SS (Beijer Ref SEK142.80, +15.20) -- reports Q4 EPS SEK0.76 ex-items vs FactSet SEK0.87 [5 est, SEK0.82-0.91]
+10.0% SFL.IM (Safilo Group €1.11, +0.10) -- reports preliminary FY revenue €1.02B vs FactSet €1.02B [5 est, €1.02-1.03B] (post EU close 30-Jan)
+8.0% LOOMIS.SS (Loomis SEK284.80, +21.20) -- reports Q4 EPS SEK4.40 vs FactSet SEK6.19 [3 est, SEK5.24-7.55]; to repurchase shares for up to SEK 200M
+7.7% BRG.NO (Borregaard NOK179.40, +12.80) -- reports Q4 EPS NOK1.19 vs FactSet NOK0.99 [5 est, NOK0.78-1.14]
+7.2% HUM.LN (Hummingbird Resources £0.10, +0.01) -- Q4 operational and trading update
+6.2% SK.FP (SEB €113.50, +6.60) -- reports Q4 revenue €2.47B vs FactSet €2.51B [2 est, €2.48-2.53B]
+4.8% ARJO.B.SS (Arjo SEK48.92, +2.26) -- short-term recommendation upgraded to buy from hold at Handelsbanken
+4.6% SSAB.A.SS (SSAB SEK81.14, +3.54) -- reports Q4 EPS SEK1.86 vs FactSet SEK1.49 [11 est, SEK0.80-1.95]
+4.4% WRT1V.FH (Wartsila €13.70, +0.58) -- reports Q4 EPS €0.16 vs consensus €0.23
+4.4% SKF.B.SS (SKF SEK205.90, +8.60) -- reports Q4 adj EPS SEK3.57 vs consensus SEK3.54; hikes divi by ~7%; guides Q1 and FY24
+4.3% KURN.SW (Kuros Biosciences CHF5.30, +0.22) -- US FDA 510K Clearance
+4.1% AOF.GR (ATOSS Software €255.00, +10.00) -- reports FY EPS €4.50 vs FactSet €4.02 [5 est, €3.84-4.11]; expects FY24 revenues of €170M vs FactSet €169.9M
+3.6% NOVO.B.DC (Novo Nordisk DKK774.80, +26.60) --
reports Q4 EPS DKK4.91 vs consensus DKK4.65
hikes divi by ~52%, announces DKK20B buyback and guides FY24
+3.4% BRNK.GR (Branicks Group €2.13, +0.07) -- lease agreement
+3.2% PPT.AU (Perpetual A$26.00, +0.80) -- PE firms prepping bids for Perpetual units - Australian Financial Review
+3.1% RILBA.DC (Ringkjøbing Landbobank DKK1,114.00, +34.00) -- reports FY net income DKK2.16B vs guidance DKK1.80B-2.2B vs FactSet DKK 2.12B
+2.9% SOM.LN (Somero Enterprises £3.60, +0.10) -- FY trading update
+2.2% TIT.IM (Telecom Italia €0.28, +0.01) -- Italian government and KKR said to reach agreement on terms of proposed offer for Telecom Italia's Sparkle unit -- Reuters
+2.1% SAN.SM (Banco Santander €3.74, +0.08) -- reports Q4 underlying net income attributable €2.93B vs FactSet €2.65B [11 est, €2.16-2.90B]
+2.0% GSK.LN (GSK Plc £15.68, +0.30) -- reports Q4 EPS 28.9p vs FactSet 29.0p [10 est, 20.9-31.8p]; upgrades growth outlooks
+1.9% FDM.LN (FDM Group (Holdings) £4.60, +0.09) -- FY trading update: expects revenue at £334M vs FactSet £327.4M
+1.9% BMAX.SS (Byggmax Group SEK36.10, +0.66) -- Q4 earnings
Notable Decliners
-12.4% HM.B.SS (H&M Hennes & Mauritz SEK147.48, -20.82) --
reports Q4 EPS SEK0.97 vs FactSet SEK2.03 [15 est, SEK1.94-2.04]; current quarter sales during 1-Dec to 29-Jan decreased by (4%) in local currencies y/y
new CEO
-5.8% GKP.LN (Gulf Keystone Petroleum £1.05, -0.06) -- Operational & Corporate Update; 2023 gross average production of 21,891 bopd vs year-ago 44,202 bopd, reflecting suspension of exports and subsequent initiation of local sales
-4.7% CRBN.NA (Corbion €18.03, -0.89) -- presents strategic development update on 'Advance 2025'; introduces updated targets for the 2024-25; releases prelim. FY earnings - CMD
-4.2% BULTEN.SS (Bulten SEK72.90, -3.20) -- new organization, executive management team appointments
-3.8% ELAN.B.SS (Elanders SEK100.40, -4.00) -- Q4 earnings
-3.4% RBI.AV (Raiffeisen Bank International €19.32, -0.68) -- reports Q4 net income (€12M) vs consensus €119M
-3.4% NOVN.SW (Novartis CHF89.40, -3.19) -- reports Q4 core EPS $1.53 vs consensus $1.60; hikes divi by 3.1%; guides FY24 and updates medium-term forecast
-3.0% IPO.LN (IP Group £0.52, -0.02) -- expects year-and NAV per share between 111-117 pence
-2.8% DNB.NO (DNB Bank NOK205.10, -6.00) -- reports Q4 EPS NOK5.93 vs consensus NOK5.90
-2.3% PMI.LN (Premier Miton Group £0.65, -0.02) -- completes acquisition of Tellworth Investments
-2.1% VOD.LN (Vodafone Group £0.67, -0.01) -- Vodafone rejects iliad's revised proposal on the merger of their subsidiaries in Italy
-1.5% SHLF.NO (Shelf Drilling NOK30.10, -0.45) -- Saudi Aramco announced a halt to production capacity expansion plans - OFS impact
EU companies reporting tomorrow:
Earnings:
Benelux: ING Groep (INGA.NA),
DACHs: Roche Holding (ROG.SW), ABB Ltd. (ABBN.SW), Julius Baer Gruppe (BAER.SW), Berner Kantonalbank (BEKN.SW), Siemens Healthineers (SHL.GR), DWS Group (DWS.GR), OMV (OMV.AV), BAWAG (BG.AV), AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik (ATS.AV)
France: Sanofi (SAN.FP), BNP Paribas (BNP.FP), Dassault Systemes (DSY.FP)
Nordics: DSV (DSV.DC), Novozymes (NZYM.B.DC), Hexagon (HEXA.B.SS), Evolution (EVO.SS), Indutrade (INDT.SS), Volvo Car (VOLCAR.B.SS), Getinge (GETI.B.SS), Axfood (AXFO.SS), Kinnevik (KINV.B.SS), Munters Group (MTRS.SS), Vitec Software Group (VIT.B.SS), Electrolux Professional (EPRO.B.SS), AcadeMedia (ACAD.SS), Rottneros (RROS.SS), Bonava (BONAV.B.SS), Midsona (MSON.B.SS), Enea (ENEA.SS), Tobii (TOBII.SS), UPM-Kymmene (UPM.FH), Stora Enso (STERV.FH), Cargotec (CGCBV.FH), Talenom (TNOM.FH), Detection Technology (DETEC.FH), Protector Forsikring (PROT.NO), Europris (EPR.NO), ArcticZymes Technologies (AZT.NO), Prosafe (PRS.NO)
Southern Europe: Banco de Sabadell (SAB.SM)
UK: Shell (SHEL.LN), Airtel Africa (AAF.LN), Rank Group (RNK.LN),
Trading Update: BT Group (BT.A.LN), A.G. BARR (BAG.LN), Gem Diamonds Ltd. (GEMD.LN), Bonduelle (BON.FP), Siltronic (WAF.GR)
Production: Glencore (GLEN.LN)
Data:
Economics:
UK Jan Nationwide House Prices (0.2%) y/y vs cons (0.9%) and prior (1.8%)
Germany
Dec Retail Sales (1.7%) y/y vs cons (2.0%) and prior (2.4%); (1.6%) m/m vs cons +0.7% and prior (2.5%)
Jan Unemployment Change (2.0K) vs cons +11K and prior +5K
Unemployment Rate 5.8% vs cons 5.9% and prior 5.9%
Switzerland
Dec Retail Sales (0.8%) y/y vs cons +1.1% and prior revised (1.5%) from +0.7%
Jan ZEW Expectations (19.5) vs cons (22.0) and prior (23.7)
France Dec
Prelim CPI +3.1% y/y vs cons +2.9% and prior +3.5%; (0.2%) m/m vs cons (0.4%) and prior (0.2%)
EU Harmonised: +3.4% y/y vs cons +3.3% and prior +3.9%; (0.2%) m/m vs cons (0.2%) and prior (0.2%)
PPI (0.9%) y/y vs cons (0.5%) and prior +0.3%
Spain Dec Retail Sales +3.1% y/y vs cons +4.1% and prior revised +5.0% from +5.2%; (0.7%) m/m vs cons +0.4% and +0.9%
Netherlands Dec Retail Sales +4.2% y/y vs consensus +2.7% and prior +3.2%
Denmark Dec Unemployment Rate 2.5% vs consensus 2.6% and prior 2.5%
Markets:
WTI Crude (Mar 24): ($1.55) or (1.99%) to $76.27
€-$ +0.0004 or +0.04% to 1.0849
£-$ +0.0020 or +0.16% to 1.2721
€-£ (0.0012) to 0.8529
S&P 500 (0.85%)
Performance year-to-date
FTSE 100: (1.33%)
DAX: +0.91%
CAC: +1.51%
MIB: +1.39%
Stoxx 600: +1.39%
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