Feb 19 ,2024
Synopsis:
European equity markets closed broadly mixed Monday, in what was a relatively quiet session given US Markets were closed for President's Day. European regional outperformers included Swiss SMI +0.8%, Portugal PSI +0.7% and Spain IBEX +0.6%, while underperformers were Netherlands AEX (0.3%), German Dax (0.2%) and Italian FTSE MIB (0.2%)
No change in broader market themes. Markets still influenced by push-and-pull from fluctuations in central bank rate expectations. Disinflation narrative still largely intact despite firmer than expected US CPI and PPI releases. Fed rhetoric still supportive of rate cuts. In Europe, cautious remarks from ECB officials, though slight shift in favor of doves albeit with emphasis on incoming data and macro projections. BoE officials still sound concerned over wage developments and risk of second round effects.
In other developments, UK property portal Rightmove said first annual rise in house prices still last summer. Report by EY Item Club said high UK rates to limit bank lending and hamper business investment.
Defensives the best performing sectors with Telecom and Food & Beverages stronger. Health Care the best performer with spotlight on AstraZeneca (AZN.LN) (shares up over 3%) after trial data showed Tagrisso slowed disease progression in patients with advanced lung cancer and also on news the US FDA approved AstraZeneca's Tagrisso-chemo combo.
in M&A, JD.com confirmed it is in very preliminary stages of evaluating potential offer to buy Currys (CURY.LN); Elliott Advisors also confirmed that it is considering a possible cash offer for Currys; this after its preliminary 62p/sh proposal was rejected by the Currys board.
European Commission President von der Leyen announced her bid to become the lead candidate of the center-right European People's Party (EPP) for the June European elections, ending months of speculation (Politico). Speaking in Berlin at a German CDU press event, she pledged to improve EU defense capabilities, business competitiveness and push through more green policies (FT). On the weekend, von der Leyen said if she stayed on for another term, would create a new post of defense commissioner to oversee Brussels' support for Europe's defense industry. Welt highlighted there is a good chance that the Commission chief secures a second term with EPP clearly ahead in the polls so far. Politico noted that von der Leyen has been instrumental in showcasing the EU's continued support for Ukraine and she has also steered the bloc through the Covid pandemic. In addition, she has been an advocate for EU expansion, including opening accession talks with Ukraine last December. Formal nomination of her candidacy will take place at a vote at the EPP's electoral congress in March (6-7).
Looking ahead to tomorrow's session, notable companies reporting earnings/updates include Fresenius Medical Care (FME.GR), Barclays (BARC.LN), Antofagasta (ANTO.LN), InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG.LN), Air Liquide (AI.FP), Carrefour (CA.FP).
Digest:
Sectors - STOXX Europe 600:
Outperformers:
Health Care +0.91%, Telecom +0.83%, Food, Beverage and Tobacco +0.52%, Construct & Mtls +0.50%, Media +0.40%, Banks +0.39%, Personal Care Drug and Grocery Stores +0.36%, Energy+0.26%, Real Estate +0.19%
Underperformers:
Basic Resources (0.98%), Autos & Parts (0.83%), Technology (0.74%), Chemicals (0.36%), Travel & Leisure (0.24%), Insurance (0.20%), Utilities (0.11%), Ind Goods & Svcs (0.01%), Financial Svcs +0.03%, Retail +0.06%
Macro:
Central banks
EU
Ursula von der Leyen kick offs campaign for second term at Brussels' helm (FT)
UK
Average new seller asking prices rise by 0.9% this month; prices up by 0.1% on a year ago (Rightmove)
High interest rates set to keep a lid on lending (London Times)
UK lawmakers slam "lack of clarity" on major trade deal benefits (Bloomberg)
UK trade reshuffle leaves city bankers exposed to shocks abroad (Bloomberg)
Germany
Some stress factors are likely to remain in place at the beginning of 2024 and economic output could decline slightly again in Q1 (Bundesbank Report)
Spain
France
France cuts 2024 growth forecast as outlook darkens - Reuters
Company news:
Notable gainers:
+37.0% CURY.LN (Currys £0.65, +0.17) -- Elliott Advisors confirms that it is considering a possible cash offer for Currys; company confirms it rejected preliminary 62p/sh proposal; JD.com confirms it is in very preliminary stages of evaluating potential offer to buy Currys
+16.7% EGTX.SS (Egetis Therapeutics SEK6.07, +0.87) -- initiated buy at Handelsbanken
+13.7% VNV.SS (VNV Global SEK18.97, +2.28) -- to exit its investments in Booksy, Tise, James Edition and Carla to Verdane for up to $58M
+8.7% ULTI.NO (Ultimovacs NOK147.00, +11.80) -- EMA orphan drug designation for UV1 cancer vaccine
+8.5% STOR.B.SS (Storskogen Group SEK5.87, +0.46) -- CEO to step down
+7.1% BGEO.LN (Bank of Georgia Group £42.75, +2.80) -- to acquire 100% of Armenia-based Ameriabank CJSC for ~$303.6M
+6.8% ADJ.GR (ADLER Group €0.23, +0.01) -- Chairman resigns
+5.8% ART.LN (Artisanal Spirits Company £0.46, +0.03) -- trading update
+5.5% TIT.IM (Telecom Italia €0.29, +0.02) -- BofA upgrade
+5.5% ALM.SM (Almirall €9.07, +0.47) -- FY earnings; enters exclusive license agreement with Novo Nordisk for rights to NN-8828
+4.1% BELL.LN (Belluscura £0.26, +0.01) -- updates in connection with offer for TMT Acquisition
+3.8% RHM.GR (Rheinmetall €402.30, +14.80) -- Patria tank set to replace Rheinmetall's Fuchs tank in German army - Handelsblatt
+3.2% AZN.LN (AstraZeneca £104.18, +3.24) -- BLA for Dato-DXd has been accepted in US for patients with previously treated advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer; Tagrisso trial results
+2.6% ACAD.SS (AcadeMedia SEK50.10, +1.26) -- Mellby Gård cancels deal to sell all shares in AcadeMedia to the Akelius Foundation
+2.3% DR0.GR (Deutsche Rohstoff €30.65, +0.70) -- reserve report 2024
+2.2% TRR.LN (Trident Royalties £0.35, +0.01) -- signs facility agreement for $40M revolving credit facility with option to increase facility to $60M
+2.0% SPR.LN (Springfield Properties £0.78, +0.02) -- to sell ~11.2 acres of land for £8.7M
+1.9% QTCOM.FH (Qt Group €77.52, +1.48) -- Danske Bank and Inderes upgrades
+1.8% SAN.SM (Banco Santander €3.74, +0.07) -- final dividend; has received the regulatory approval to execute a share buyback program for an approximate amount of €1.5B, which will be launched on 20-Feb
+1.7% REP.SM (Repsol €13.83, +0.23) -- Morgan Stanley upgrade
+0.9% BAYN.GR (Bayer AG €0.00, +0.27) -- Bayer to amend its dividend policy to pay out the legally required minimum for three years; change would result in a dividend of €0.11/share for FY23
Notable decliners:
-54.4% ESKN.LN (Esken Ltd. £0.00, -0.00) -- updates on LSA and Carlyle Global Infrastructure Fund
-13.1% FRVIA.FP (Forvia €14.05, -2.11) -- FY earnings
-9.0% NWL.IM (Newlat Food €6.96, -0.69) -- Newlat Food stops negotiations for the acquisition of Princes Limited
-8.2% NORBT.NO (Norbit NOK65.20, -5.80) -- Sparebank 1 Markets downgrade
-6.9% AQ.SS (AQ Group SEK540.00, -40.00) -- SEB downgrade
-6.2% FSECURE.FH (F-Secure €1.84, -0.12) -- Inderes and Nordea downgrades
-5.4% BC8.GR (Bechtle €46.43, -2.64) -- initiated underweight at Barclays
-2.9% VALMT.FH (Valmet €25.19, -0.74) -- new CEO
-2.8% ICOS.IM (Intercos €0.00, -0.42) -- Intercos announces temporary suspension of IT services following malware attack
-2.6% MONY.LN (Moneysupermarket.com Group £2.45, -0.07) -- FY earnings
-2.2% ALLFG.NA (Allfunds Group €6.32, -0.14) -- BNP Paribas Exane
-2.2% METSO.FH (Metso Corp. €10.20, -0.23) -- Inderes and Kepler Cheuvreux downgrades
-1.8% PIRC.IM (Pirelli & C. €5.32, -0.10) -- HSBC downgrade
-1.3% NOM.NO (Nordic Mining NOK0.76, -0.01) -- proposes 1-for-20 reverse split
-0.4% ICAD.FP (Icade €30.34, -0.12) -- FY earnings
EU companies reporting tomorrow:
Earnings:
Benelux: ACOMO (ACOMO.NA)
DACHs: Fresenius Medical Care (FME.GR), JOST Werke (JST.GR), DATAGROUP (D6H.GR), Siegfried Holding (SFZN.SW), ALSO Holding (ALSN.SW), OC Oerlikon Corp. (OERL.SW), CPH Chemie + Papier Holding (CPHN.SW)
Finland: Ponsse (PON1V.FH), Gofore (GOFORE.FH)
France: Air Liquide (AI.FP), Carrefour (CA.FP)
Norway: Aker (AKER.NO), BlueNord (BNOR.NO)
Southern Europe: Enagas (ENG.SM), The Navigator Co. (NVG.PL)
Sweden: Truecaller (TRUE.B.SS), VBG Group (VBG.B.SS), BICO Group (BICO.SS), Nobia (NOBI.SS), Devyser Diagnostics (DVYSR.SS), SyntheticMR (SYNT.SS)
UK: Barclays (BARC.LN), Antofagasta (ANTO.LN), InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG.LN), Springfield Properties (SPR.LN), Petra Diamonds (PDL.LN)
Trading Update: Greenyard (GREEN.BB)
Data:
Economics:
Finland Jan CPI +3.3% y/y vs consensus +3.4% and prior +3.6%; +0.3% m/m vs consensus +0.4% and prior +0.3%
Sweden Jan CPI +5.4% y/y vs consensus +5.1% and prior +4.4%; +0.1% m/m vs consensus (0.4%) and prior +0.7%
Spain Dec Trade Balance (€3.4B) vs consensus (€4.5B) and prior (€2.4B)
Markets:
WTI Crude (Mar 24): +$0.47 or +0.59% to $79.66
€-$ (0.0009) or (0.09%) to 1.0768
£-$ (0.0022) or (0.17%) to 1.2585
€-£ +0.0009 to 0.8559
S&P 500 +0.00%
Performance year-to-date
FTSE 100: (0.06%)
DAX: +2.03%
CAC: +2.99%
MIB: +4.34%
Stoxx 600: +2.80%
This information and data is provided for general informational purposes only. The Bank of New York Mellon and our information suppliers do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of this information or data. We provide no advice nor recommendation or endorsement with respect to any company or securities. We do not undertake any obligation to update or amend this information or data. Nothing herein shall be deemed to constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities.
Please refer to "Terms Of Use".
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS:
NOT FDIC, STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY INSURED
MAY LOSE VALUE
NO BANK, STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY GUARANTEE