Feb 20 ,2024
Synopsis:
European equity markets generally closed lower. Shares opened lower, as expected, with pan-European indices range-bound through the morning in slightly negative territory, before reversing falls around mid session. Shares then again moved back to the day's lows after Wall Street's open, before again paring loses in later trade to close the day around opening levels
Spain +0.9%, Switzerland +0.5% and CAC were among the handful of country benchmark indices that bucked the lower trend, and led outperformers. Denmark (1.3%) and the Netherlands down (0.9%) led underperformers
With Russia-Ukraine war in its 727th day, Ukrainian troops were facing "heavy fire" from Russian forces in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, and claimed to have shot down two more Russian warplanes. Spanish media reported a Russian pilot who defected in 2023 was found shot in Alicante. In the UK, The Labour Party has called for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza in amendment to a SNP motion to be voted on tomorrow.
Chancellor Scholz took part in the Federal Association of German Employers' Associations (BDA) conf and later today delivers a speech at event in Hamburg, where Estonia PM Kallas will be a guest. EU's Borrell co-chaired the EU-Georgia Association Council and EU's von der Leyen attended the European Industry Summit, hosted by Belgium PM de Croo
Among the central bank news flow, BOE's Bailey, Broadbent, Greene and Dhingra were before Treasury Select committee on the Feb Monetary Policy Report. Also, Riksbank's Flodén spoke at an event organised by MSCI and Breman spoke at a seminar organised by the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. Bundesbank's Balz addressed an event organised by Int'l Bankers Forum, whilst Riksbank's Thedéen spoke at an event organised by Swedbank. BOE's Mutton is a panelist at 18:30GMT at GBBC European Parliament event
The handful of economic data releases included Switzerland's Jan trade balance that was larger than expected and Denmark Q4 preliminary GDP q/q topping expectations with Q3 revised to show growth
Earnings/updates included Air Liquide (AI.FP) FY net income €3.32B vs consensus €3.29B; hikes divi by +8.5% and announces free share attribution and loyalty bonus and Enagas (ENG.SM) FY net income €342.5M vs prior guidance €310-320M and FactSet €319.9M [20 est, €287.8-337M], guides 2024 net income between €260-270M vs FactSet €252.6M and lowers dividend guidance. Also, Barclays (BARC.LN) FY EPS 27.7p vs consensus 27.5p, announces intends to initiate a further share buyback of up to £1B as well as revised financial targets and outlook. Going forward, the bank will operate under new operating divisions. Antofagasta (ANTO.LN) FY Adjusted EBITDA $3.09B vs FactSet $3.08B [16 est, $2.92-3.23B] and provided 2024 production guidance including copper 670-710,000 tonnes and Group net cash costs $1.60/lb, with by-product credits expected to remain in line with 2023
Elsewhere, Salzgitter (SZG.GR) sells Mannesmann Stainless Tubes Group to Cogne Acciai Speciali for €135M, FNM (FNM.IM) signs the sale and purchase agreement for the previously disclosed acquisition of an 80% stake in Viridis Energia and National Bank of Greece (ETE.GA) completes the Frontier II transaction
Digest:
Sectors - STOXX Europe 600:
Outperformers:
Chemicals +2.55%, Travel & Leisure +1.03%, Utilities +1.01%, Banks +0.96%, Insurance +0.73%, Retail +0.53%, Media +0.32%, Food & Beverage +0.27%, Telecom +0.25%, Persnl & HHold Goods +0.16%, Construct & Mtls +0.15%
Underperformers:
Technology (1.81%), Basic Resources (1.80%), Oil & Gas (1.08%), Autos & Parts (0.96%), Health Care (0.57%), Real Estate (0.50%), Financial Svcs (0.31%), Ind Goods & Svcs (0.18%)
Macro/Peripheral markets:
EU:
Central Banks:
Greece:
Greece's gateway to Asia, India's gateway to Europe - ekathomerini
Ireland:
Sweden:
Government presents the largest military aid package to Ukraine - release
UK:
Company news:
Notable Gainers
+77.7% ENSU.NO (Ensurge Micropower) -- Q4 EPS ($0.00) vs year-ago ($0.02)
+17.4% SDRY.LN (Superdry) -- co-founder Julian Dunkerton in talks with Davidson Kempner about supporting an offer for the company - Sky News
+11.0% MEL.SM (Melia Hotels International) -- Moon GC&P Investments, S.L.U. to acquire 38.2% stake in Melia Group subsidiary for €300M
+8.7% BARC.LN (Barclays) -- FY EPS 27.7p vs consensus 27.5p
+8.7% BNOR.NO (BlueNord) -- Q4 net income $27.1M vs FactSet $22.9M [5 est, $18-29M]; announces 2024-26 distribution policy
+8.6% BB.FP (Bic) -- Q4 adj. EPS €1.23 vs consensus €1.31; announces extraordinary dividend of €1.42/share and up to €40M share buyback program
+8.3% AI.FP (Air Liquide) -- FY net income €3.32B vs consensus €3.29B; hikes divi by +8.5% and announces free share attribution and loyalty bonus
+7.3% PODP.LN (Pod Point Group Holdings) --FY revenue expected to be line with guidance of at least £63M vs FactSet £63.1M
+7.3% OERL.SW (OC Oerlikon Corp.) -- Q4 operational EBIT CHF47M, (35%) vs year-ago CHF72M
+7.2% DVYSR.SS (Devyser Diagnostics) -- Q4 EPS (SEK0.80) vs year-ago (SEK1.04)
+6.1% DOM.LN (Domino's Pizza Group) -- upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies
+5.5% IHG.LN (InterContinental Hotels Group) -- FY adj EPS $375.7¢ vs consensus $375¢; hikes divi by 10% and announces $800M buyback
+4.9% NEWA.B.SS (New Wave Group) -- releases updated financial goals; equity ratio should not fall below 40% vs prior target 30% over one business cycle
+4.0% BAKKA.NO (Bakkafrost) -- Q4 operational EBIT DKK356M vs FactSet DKK421.3M [9 est, DKK357-485M]
+3.0% AV.LN (Aviva) -- upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA
+2.6% ENG.SM (Enagas) -- FY net income €342.5M vs prior guidance €310-320M and FactSet €319.9M [20 est, €287.8-337M]
+2.2% GREEN.BB (Greenyard) -- Q3 net sales €1.27B, +13% vs year-ago €1.12B
On earnings/updates: ANTO.LN (Antofagasta), JST.GR (JOST Werke)
Notable Decliners
-27.8% NOBI.SS (Nobia) -- Q4 EPS (SEK1.04) vs FactSet (SEK0.31) [4 est, (SEK0.75)-(0.02)]; no divi for FY23
-9.4% MCG.LN (Mobico Group) -- delays results as accounting judgements relating to German Rail business require further review; FY Adj EBIT expected to be in line with guidance
-7.8% ALSN.SW (ALSO Holding) -- FY net income attributable €123.7M vs FactSet €145.8M [5 est, €135.1-152.2M]; raises dividend +4.3% y/y
-7.7% BICO.SS (BICO Group) -- Q4 EPS (SEK12.42) vs year-ago (SEK3.29)
-7.4% SFZN.SW (Siegfried Holding) -- FY core net profit CHF128.1M vs FactSet CHF132.4M [9 est, CHF122.6-166.9M]
-7.0% PDL.LN (Petra Diamonds) -- H1 adj EPS ($0.05) vs year-ago $0.09
-6.2% TRUE.B.SS (Truecaller) -- Q4 EPS SEK0.33 vs FactSet SEK0.35 [2 est, SEK0.34-0.35]
-6.1% TEMN.SW (Temenos) -- Q4 non-IFRS EPS $1.03, +4% y/y; guides FY24 EPS growth of +6-8%-6.7%
-4.5% FME.GR (Fresenius Medical Care) -- Q4 EPS €0.88 ex-items vs consensus €0.62
-4.4% ICAD.FP (Icade) -- downgraded to neutral from outperform at BNP Paribas Exane
-4.2% CPHN.SW (CPH Chemie + Papier Holding) -- FY net income CHF79M vs FactSet CHF80.6M [3 est, CHF75.7-89.2M]
-4.1% ALM.SM (Almirall) -- downgraded to sell from neutral at Alantra Equities
-4.0% PRS.NO (Prosafe) -- Jan fleet utilization 56.8%
-3.4% PLUS.LN (Plus500) -- FY EPS $3.12 vs FactSet $2.89 [5 est, $2.68-3.10], proposes final and special dividend, announces new share buyback program; shares reversed initial gains
-3.2% SDZ.SW (Sandoz Group) -- downgraded to equal-weight from overweight at Morgan Stanley
-3.1% D6H.GR (Datagroup) -- Q1 EPS €0.73 vs FactSet €0.72 [1 est]
-1.6% AKER.NO (Aker) -- Q4 NAVPS NOK851 vs year-ago NOK900
On earnings/updates: LOK.LN (Lok 'n' Store Group), ISOFOL.SS (Isofol Medical), ACOMO.NA (ACOMO)
EU companies reporting tomorrow:
Earnings:
Benelux: Wolters Kluwer (WKL.NA), JDE Peet's (JDEP.NA), AMG Critical Materials (AMG.NA), Aedifica (AED.BB)
DACHs: Fresenius SE & Co. (FRE.GR), Telefonica Deutschland Holding (O2D.GR), EFG International (EFGN.SW), Wienerberger (WIE.AV), Kapsch TrafficCom (KTCG.AV)
Denmark: NKT (NKT.DC), FLSmidth & Co.(FLS.DC)
France: Ipsos (IPS.FP), Imerys (NK.FP), Eramet (ERA.FP)
Norway: Zaptec (ZAP.NO), Petronor E&P (PNOR.NO)
Sweden: Better Collective (BETCO.SS), OX2 (OX2.SS), Corem Property Group (CORE.B.SS), Surgical Science Sweden (SUS.SS), Synsam (SYNSAM.SS), GARO (GARO.SS), Calliditas Therapeutics (CALTX.SS)
UK: HSBC Holdings (HSBA.LN), Glencore (GLEN.LN), BAE Systems (BA.LN)
Trading Update: Tate & Lyle (TATE.LN), Knaus Tabbert (KTA.GR)
Data:
Economics:
Finland Jan unemployment rate 8.3% vs consensus 7.5%, prior 7.1%
Denmark Q4 preliminary GDP +2.0% q/q vs consensus +0.4%, prior revised +0.4% from (0.7%)
Switzerland Jan trade balance CHF4.74B vs consensus CHF2.4B, prior revised CHF1.27B from CHF1.25B
Jan Swiss Watch Exports +3.1% to CHF 1.92B
Eurozone Dec construction output +1.9% y/y vs consensus (2.3%), prior revised (1.9%) from (2.2%)
Markets:
WTI Crude (Mar 24): ($0.60) or (0.76%) to $78.59
€-$ +0.0038 or +0.35% to 1.0817
£-$ +0.0048 or +0.38% to 1.2643
€-£ (0.0003) to 0.8556
S&P 500 (0.65%)
Performance year-to-date:
FTSE 100: (0.18%)
DAX: +1.89%
CAC: +3.34%
MIB: +4.45%
Stoxx 600: +2.70%
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