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* European stocks steepen losses, now down 1%
* Jump in new coronavirus cases weighs on risk sentiment
* Big earnings day: Centrica plunges, Rexel jumps
* FTSE 100 down 1.5% dragged down by oil stocks, Centrica
Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters
stocks reporters. You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan
(thyagaraju.adinarayan@tr.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@tr.com), Julien Ponthus
(julien.ponthus@tr.com) in London and Danilo Masoni (danilo.masoni@tr.com) in Milan.
ESG WINNERS: WHEN ZERO PLAYS A BIG ROLE (1050 GMT)
BP's zero carbon goal by 2050 announced yesterday is seen as one of the most ambitious
targets in the oil sector and this shouldn't come as a surprise given how ESG has been playing
out as a secular theme.
"We believe BP has made a meaningful contribution to the ESG dialogue that is necessary to
attract generalist investors back to the oil and gas sector," Jefferies analysts write.
Morgan Stanley meanwhile sees ESG as a multi-year theme such as TMT (Tech, Media & Telecom)
in 1990s, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in the 2000s and FAANGs
(Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google-owner Alphabet) in the 2010s.
MS strategists led by Graham Secker say in the 2020s, it'd be ESG (Environmental, Social and
Governance)!
The theme has largely played out in Europe so far with only nascent signs of a pick-up in
other regions, they say. And, climate change/decarbonisation is the main area where ESG
considerations are lifting performance and valuations.
Utilities are seen benefiting the most from this theme and MS has upgraded the sector to
"overweight", while expecting energy firms to suffer from outflows.
On a granular level MS sees the following stocks to benefit in Europe:
* Alstom: Urbanisation and green mobility are driving continued investment in rail
networks globally.
* Covestro: Market underappreciating the company's gearing into sustainability,
particularly in insulation and electric vehicles
* Kingspan: Structural demand for more energy efficient building
* Neste: Has been producing renewable Diesel from renewable feedstocks
* RWE: poised for renewables growth as it transitions away from nuclear and
lignite
power generation in Germany
In the U.S.:
* Ameren: Transition to renewables
* TPI Composite: The independent manufacturer of composite wind blades is likely to
benefit from rising wind installations
* NextEra Energy: Leading market share in renewable energy production in the U.S.
* Ingersoll Rand: Serving heating, ventilation, and air conditioning markets with an
energy
efficiency and sustainability directive
* Algonquin Power & Utilities: decarbonising its utility business
(Thyagaraju Adinarayan)
*****
BIG JUMP IN VIRUS CASES, SMALL UPTICK IN FEAR (0935 GMT)
China reported a sharp rise in new coronavirus deaths and infections, as it changed the
method of counting virus cases.
Does that matter?
Surely it does, but as UBS GWM's chief economist Paul Donovan points out "Reporting reality
more accurately only matters economically if it changes fear levels".
And judging from volatility, the market's fear gauge, it looks like no game changer.
The euro STOXX volatility index in fact is up just 0.7 at 13.18 - sill well below
this month's peak.
(Danilo Masoni)
*****
BIG EARNINGS DAY: FEW WINNERS AT THE OPEN (0838 GMT)
European shares are down about 0.4%, so just off yesterday's record highs as an earnings
galore triggered lot of action at the open.
Among the top movers on the STOXX 600, most are trading in negative territory, meaning that
today's earnings deluge isn't much of a party.
Biggest mover is Centrica with a two-digit percentage fall after announcing a steep
fall in operating profit. Among stocks losing about 5% or above at the moment are Sweden's
Boliden with a bigger-than-expected drop in Q4 operating earnings, Ipsen and
Aegon with a cold welcome to their results.
High profile losers include Barclays, down 2.5% with a surprise Epstein
investigation stealing the spotlight to the bank's solid results. Credit Suisse not
getting much love either with a similar fall.
There are however a few winners in the financial sector like Commerzbank, up 4%,
and NN Group, up 5%.
Other big winners of the earnings galore are France's Rexel up 8% and Clariant
up 4.8%.
Also, telcos aren't doing badly with Telecom Italia up 2.7% and Orange
rising 1.4%.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
EARNINGS GALORE: CALLING THE ACTION AT THE OPEN (0750 GMT)
One easy to flag big mover at the open will be RIB Software following France's Schneider
Electric 1.4 bln euro offer.
Among companies expected to retreat at the open following their Q4 are Airbus, Nestle,
ThyssenKrupp and Aurubis.
Clariant seen rising in pre-market trading after its announcement to slash 600 jobs. In
telcos, Orange is seen making some gains at the open.
The trend seems overall positive in the financial and banking sectors with Credit Suisse
posing its best profit since 2010, Commerzbank swinging to a smaller-than-expected Q4 loss,
Insurer NN Group announcing buybacks and rising dividends and Zurich Insurance boosting
operating profit 16%.
Important to note that Barclays’ results just came in with a surprise statement about
regulators probing its CEO's ties to late Jeffrey Epstein. Mixed indications at the moment on
how the shares will do.
Some insight on how the coronavirus outbreak will hit European blue chips with Pernod Ricard
cutting its annual profit growth forecast.
Also a lot of interest from one of the hottest sector at the moment with Just Eat
Takeaway.com reported strong revenue growth and a small core profit.
There's also a bullish outlook from chip gear maker Applied Material which could
provide a positive read-across for the sector's stocks in Europe.
On the other hand, Data showing auto sales in China are likely to have fallen 18% in
January could weigh on sentiment for European carmakers.
(Julien Ponthus and Danilo Masoni)
*****
EARNINGS GALORE: ASK FOR THE MENU! (0652 GMT)
This is one of the busiest day of the earnings season with a deluge of trading updates and
announcements.
It will be real tricky to identify who the top movers will be at the open with so many
companies reporting at the same time.
Focusing on large caps, here are some of the top headlines at the moment:
Credit Suisse posts best profit since 2010 in Thiam swan song
Commerzbank swings to smaller-than-expected Q4 loss
Insurer NN Group announces plan for share buybacks and rising dividends
Zurich Insurance boosts operating profit 16%, ups dividend
Thyssenkrupp's Q1 profit drops as steel becomes new problem child
Aurubis sees stable new year as smelter maintenance ends
Clariant to slash 600 jobs as 2019 profit plunges and outlook dims
Airbus targets operating profit gain in 2020, after bribery settlement net loss
Nestle pushes back growth target after solid 2019
Pernod Ricard cuts annual profit growth forecast due to China virus
Orange Q4 core profits rise 1.3% on improved sales in France, Africa
Takeaway reports core profit in 2019, revenues up 79%
Capgemini Says Fy Net Profit Group Share Up 17% To EUR 856 Mln
Apart from earnings, there's no shortage of other corporate announcements:
France's Schneider Electric makes 1.4 bln euro offer to buy RIB Software
Airbus to buy rest of Bombardier stake in A220 passenger jet programme
Australia court approves $10 bln Vodafone-TPG merger, overrules regulator
Euronext says still analysing whether to bid for Madrid bourse
(Julien Ponthus)
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MORNING CALL: JUST A TAD LOWER FOR NOW (0621 GMT)
A jump in the number of deaths linked to the coronavirus outbreak has triggered some kind of
strategic and limited retreat on Asian bourses overnight.
European and U.S. stock markets which had just hit new record on hopes the virus' spread
might be slowing down are now expected to let some of these gains go at the open, futures show.
CMC Markets said the FTSE 100 is expected to open 21 points lower, the DAX to lose 14 points
and France's CAC 40 to shed 4 points.
While futures for the main European benchmarks are down between 0.1% and 0.2%, there will be
plenty of corporate earnings to drive sentiment one way of another.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)
