HSBC Holdings Share News (HSBA)

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters
stocks reporters and anchored today by Julien Ponthus. Reach him on Messenger to share your
thoughts on market moves: julien.ponthus.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net


OPENING SNAPSHOT: CAREFULLY OFF THE BACK FOOT (0840 GMT)
European stock markets opened in the red and slightly worse than what futures or
spreabetters indications had initially suggested. Traders are however gradually and carefully
getting off the backfoot and most bourse and sectors are now trading positively.
There isn't however much out there in terms of news on the macro side to fuel the optimism.
Defensives are the biggest drivers with healthcare and food & beverage sectors rising 0.9%.
In terms of individual stocks there are quite a few negative headlines. Osram Licht
took a big hit, now down 4% with Austria's AMS failing in its takeover attempt
.
Building materials supplier SIG collapsed 23% after it warned that annual profit in
its core businesses would be significantly lower, hit by a deteriorating construction market as
a downturn in Britain and Germany deepened and fears of a recession loomed.
That also hit peer Travis Perkins which fell 4.1%.
Another spectacular move was in Safilo which is down close to 5% after rising almost 12% on
Friday. There was speculation that France's Kering could be looking at the Italian company as a
possible takeover target but that’s no longer the case.
HSBC was nearly flat after the FT'S report that the bank plans to cut 10,000 jobs. Bayer is
up 1.7 percent after news that a pending U.S. lawsuit over claims related to its
glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup has been delayed.
Here's your opening snapshot:





(Julien Ponthus)
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OSRAM, SIG AND SAFILO AMONG EXPECTED FALLERS (0753 GMT)
No drama expected at the open for European stock markets this morning with benchmarks seen
hovering at plus or minus 0.2 pct.
Anxiety over the trade war talks in Washington or Brexit negotiations this week have yet not
killed The “Goldilocks” buzz from the U.S. jobs data on Friday.
There seems to be little reaction so far on DAX futures about German industrial orders
falling more than expected. It does however add yet more evidence that Europe's largest economy
is getting stuck into a slowdown.
There is some action on the downside for some individual stocks, notably Osram with
Austria's AMS struggling in its takeover attempt and SIG warning on full-year
profit as construction activity lags. Shares in Safilo will be closely watched
after they rose almost 12% on Friday. There was speculation that France's Kering could be
looking at the Italian company as a possible takeover target but that’s no longer the case.
It is still unclear from pre-market data whether reports that HSBC plans to cut 10,000 jobs
will have much of an impact.
Bayer is seen rising after a pending U.S. lawsuit over claims related to its
glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup has been delayed.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****


NOT MUCH MOVEMENT EXPECTED AT THE OPEN (0524 GMT)
Clearly the U.S. job data's soothing effect can still be felt and it all seems pretty quiet
this morning in Europe after Asian shares edged higher as concerns of a slowdown in the world's
largest economy eased.
IG Financial spreadbetters expect London's FTSE to open 12 points down, Frankfurt's DAX 4
points higher and Paris' CAC to lose 3 points while U.S. futures are slightly in the red after
their rally on Friday.
Anxiety is bound to rise as we get closer to the U.S.-China trade negotiations in Washington
planned on Oct 10-11.
This quote from our Wall Street market report on Friday sums up pretty well market sentiment
towards Friday's nonfarm payrolls:
"It's sort of a Goldilocks report: it's not strong enough to move the Federal Reserve away
from cutting rates at the end of October, but it's not weak enough to make you concerned about
the labor market or the consumer," said Shawn Snyder, head of investment strategy at Citi
Personal Wealth Management in New York.
Bets that the Fed will cut interest rates have surged this week after a dramatic contraction
in U.S. manufacturing, cooling private sector hiring, and a fall in service sector activity
pointed to widening fallout from the U.S.-China trade war.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****


(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Joice Alves, Josephine Mason, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju
Adinarayan)