Feb 05 ,2024
Synopsis:
European equity markets closed mixed. Denmark +2.1%, Greece +0.8% and Italy +0.7% lead outperformers, whilst Spain (1.2%), Finland and Sweden (1.0%) lead underperformers.
Fed pivot repricing in focus again today. In CBS 60 Minutes interview, Fed Chair Powell downplayed likelihood of March rate cut while flagging only minor changes to December SEP, including projected year-end funds rate of 4.60%. Said Fed wants to see more data confirming trend of past six months. More comments from ECB officials showing governing council divided on timing of first rate cut. Doves focus on recent inflation developments and potential disinflation process gathering momentum, while hawkish officials worried about easing policy too soon. Portugal's Centeno continues to push dovish message, arguing the ECB should respond to slowing inflation.
On macro data front, final Eurozone services PMI in line with flash, while UK reading revised higher. Eurozone sentiment improves in February. German trade surplus widens. ONS data shows UK job market tighter than expected. Survey showed more UK firms to hike prices in next two years and insolvencies to hit record high. Industry data showed 8% jump in UK new car registrations in January.
In the banking sector, UniCredit (UCG.IM) posted FY/Q4 numbers and updated on its shareholder distribution, with Nordea announces FY23 dividend of €0.92 per share; +15% y/y (NDA.SE.SS) also posting its FY earnings; of note, Societe Generale (GLE.FP) confirmed previous speculation about the intention to cut 900 jobs.
In France, Atos (ATO.FP) appointed a "mandataire ad hoc" for its refinancing plan and also warned that the conditions of the initially planned €720M rights issue are no longer applicable given the changes in market environment; shares down (19%) at the open; elsewhere, Delivery Hero (DHER.GR) and Solar (SOLAR.B.DC) released prelim earnings, whilst the FT wrote that Novo Nordisk (NOVO.B.DC) is "surprised" by "very high willingness" of Europeans to pay for weight-loss drugs themselves; still in the Nordics, Telenor (TEL.NO) announced an impairment of NOK 8.04B related to its stake in True Corporation Ltd.
In M&A news, according to local Italian press, the French government is studying a Stellantis (STLAM.IM) - Renault (RNO.FP) merger. However, Stellantis chairman John Elkann denied report that the company is in merger plans, whilst the German government is preparing to take a stake in Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKA.GR); also, in Germany, Reuters reported that Novartis (NOVN.SW) in advanced discussions to acquire Morphosys (MOR.GR).
Looking ahead to tomorrow's calendar (see - Europe Week Ahead: 5-Feb to 9-Feb attached) UBS Group (UBSG.SW), Idorsia Ltd. (IDIA.SW), Infineon Technologies (IFX.GR), Aurubis (NDA.GR), Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.IM), FinecoBank (FBK.IM), Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.IM), Banca Popolare di Sondrio (BPSO.IM), Anima (ANIM.IM), P (BP.LN), Renishaw (RSW.LN), Alfa Laval (ALFA.SS), Lagercrantz (LAGR.B.SS), Paradox Interactive (PDX.SS), Nolato (NOLA.B.SS), Nordic Waterproofing (NWG.SS) will be among other names to update investors, whilst the macro-calendar releases will include Germany Dec factory orders, Jan construction PMI, Italy Jan business/consumer confidence, Eurozone Dec retail sales, consumer inflation expectations, UK Jan construction PMI, retail sales monitor - BRC.
Digest:
Sectors - STOXX Europe 600:
Outperformers:
Food, Beverage and Tobacco +1.06%, Health Care +1.04%, Personal Care Drug and Grocery Stores +0.49%, Technology +0.45%, Consumer Products and Services +0.32%, Travel & Leisure +0.07%, Insurance +0.03%,
Underperformers:
Retail (2.15%), Basic Resources (1.70%), Autos & Parts (1.11%), Real Estate (1.08%), Energy(1.07%), Ind Goods & Svcs (0.93%), Telecom (0.96%), Financial Svcs (0.70%), Chemicals (0.52%), Banks (0.56%), Construct & Mtls (0.36%), Utilities (0.39%),
Macro/Peripheral markets:
EU
Qatargate suspect files fresh complaint about Belgian corruption probe - FT
UK
Sunak Insists There Is 'Brighter Future Ahead' Amid Doubts Over Economic Growth - Bloomberg
UK Says Job Market Was Tighter Than Expected in Late 2023 - Bloomberg
New Northern Ireland government calls for more money from London - Reuters
Central banks must keep interest rates high, warns OECD - The Times
France
Macron ally and former minister Bayrou cleared of fraud by French court - Reuters
Germany
Traffic light presents long-awaited plan for energy transition - Handelsblatt
Italy
Bipartisan pressure, no agricultural income tax also in 2024 - Ansa
Greece
New plan to tackle housing crisis - ekathimerini
BoG to warn on 'greedflation' - ekathimerini
Sweden
IMF Says Sweden Should Stick With Contractionary Monetary Policy - Bloomberg
Orbán boycotts parliament session to ratify Swedish Nato bid - The Guardian
Poland
Tusk Gears Up for Push to Oust Populists From Poland's Top Court - Bloomberg
Company news:
Trading Higher:
+34.7% MOR.GR (Morphosys €57.58, +14.64) -- Novartis (NOVN.SW) in advanced discussions to acquire Morphosys -- Reuters
+18.8% CMCX.LN (CMC Markets £1.58, +0.25) -- cost saving plan
+14.5% ALMIB.FP (Amoéba €0.52, +0.07) -- corporate governance change and growth strategy review
+12.0% KMK.LN (Kromek Group £0.08, +0.01) -- £1.3M grant
+11.4% B8F.GR (Biofrontera AG €0.47, +0.05) -- obtains approval extension for use with artificial daylight in the EU and the UK
+9.9% BONAV.B.SS (Bonava SEK13.90, +1.26) -- Handelsbanken upgrade
+9.4% SWON.SW (SoftwareONE Holding CHF17.24, +1.48) -- founding shareholders request new board
+8.1% UCG.IM (UniCredit €28.89, +2.15) -- Q4 earnings; shareholder distribution update
+4.3% ORP.FP (Orpea €0.01, -0.00) -- reverse share split
+4.0% BEI.GR (Beiersdorf €138.20, +5.40) -- hikes divi for FY23 by 43% and announces €500M share buyback program
+3.9% ACX.SM (Acerinox €10.03, +0.38) -- offers to acquires Haynes International for $61/share in cash (
+2.7% ULTI.NO (Ultimovacs NOK144.20, +3.80) -- FDA fast track designation for UV1 cancer vaccine for the treatment of patients with Unresectable Mesothelioma
+2.6% BOWL.LN (Hollywood Bowl Group £2.95, +0.07) -- £5M share buyback
Trading Lower:
-32.9% ESKN.LN (Esken Ltd. £0.00, -0.00) -- LSA and Carlyle Global Infrastructure Fund dispute update
-28.1% ATO.FP (ATOS SE €2.83, -1.10) -- refinancing plan and capital increase update
-14.0% BMN.LN (Bushveld Minerals £0.01, -0.00) -- FY operational update
-12.5% SAS.SS (SAS SEK0.01, -0.00) -- chapter 11 recoveries update
-9.4% SQZ.LN (Serica Energy £1.80, -0.19) -- FY operations update
-7.6% OMASP.FH (Oma Savings Bank €22.00, -1.80) -- Q4 earnings
-6.3% CHAR.LN (Chariot £0.09, -0.01) -- receives approval for Environmental Impact Assessment from the Unified Regional Investment Committee for drilling activity on its Loukos Onshore licence onshore Morocco
-5.9% PSM.GR (ProSiebenSat.1 Media €5.88, -0.37) -- Alster Research downgrade
-5.1% BAR.BB (Barco €14.68, -0.79) -- ING downgrade
-5.0% NDA.FI.FH (Nordea Bank €10.75, -0.56) -- Q4 earnings; FY dividend
-4.9% CONSTI.FH (Consti €10.75, -0.55) -- Inderes downgrade
-4.8% SAN.SM (Banco Santander €3.69, -0.19) -- Iran used Lloyds and Santander to covertly move money as part of sanctions-evasion scheme - FT
-2.9% AVON.LN (Avon Protection £9.52, -0.28) -- $36M order
EU companies reporting tomorrow:
Earnings:
DACHs: UBS Group (UBSG.SW), Idorsia Ltd. (IDIA.SW), Infineon Technologies (IFX.GR), Aurubis (NDA.GR), METRO (B4B.GR)
Nordics: Alfa Laval (ALFA.SS), Lagercrantz (LAGR.B.SS), Paradox Interactive (PDX.SS), Nolato (NOLA.B.SS), Nordic Waterproofing (NWG.SS), Eastnine (EAST.SS), CTT Systems (CTT.SS), Resurs (RESURS.SS), Profoto (PRFO.SS), Tethys Oil (TETY.SS), Demant (DEMANT.DC), Nordic Semiconductor (NOD.NO), Multiconsult (MULTI.NO), Nordic Mining (NOM.NO), Nokian Renkaat (TYRES.FH), eQ (EQV1V.FH), Suominen (SUY1V.FH)
Southern Europe: Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.IM), FinecoBank (FBK.IM), Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.IM), Banca Popolare di Sondrio (BPSO.IM), Anima (ANIM.IM), Unicaja Banco (UNI.SM)
UK: BP (BP.LN), Renishaw (RSW.LN), Mattioli Woods (MTW.LN)
Trading Update: CMC Markets (CMCX.LN), SCOR (SCR.FP), Equasens (EQS.FP), Linedata Services (LIN.FP), Abeo (ABEO.FP)
Traffic: Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS.NO)
CMD/events: Abivax (ABVX.FP), Crossject (ALCJ.FP)
Data:
Economics:
Services PMI Jan
Sweden 51.8 vs consensus 52.2 and prior revised 50.3 from 50.0
Spain 52.1 vs consensus 52.2 and prior 51.5
Italy 51.2 vs consensus 50.8 and prior 49.8
France 45.4 vs preliminary 45.0
Germany 47.7 vs preliminary 47.6
Eurozone 48.4 vs preliminary 48.4
UK 54.3 vs preliminary 53.8
Germany Dec Trade Balance €22.2B vs consensus €18.8B and prior revised €20.7B from €20.4B
Eurozone
Feb Sentix Investor Confidence (12.9) vs consensus (15.0) and prior (15.8)
Dec PPI (10.6%) y/y vs consensus (10.5%) and prior (8.8%); (0.8%) m/m vs consensus (0.8%) and prior (0.3%)
Markets:
WTI Crude (Mar 24): ($0.41) or (0.57%) to $71.87
€-$ (0.0052) or (0.48%) to 1.0732
£-$ (0.0105) or (0.83%) to 1.2526
€-£ +0.0028 to 0.8568
S&P 500 (0.53%)
Performance year-to-date
FTSE 100: (1.56%)
DAX: +0.91%
CAC: +0.62%
MIB: +1.98%
Stoxx 600: +0.98%
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