* European indexes run out of steam
* Banks in negative territory
* Crude oil prices jump
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@thomsonreuters.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and
Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London and Stefano Rebaudo
(stefano.rebaudo@thomsonreuters.com) in Milan.
SHELL: THERE IS ALWAYS A FIRST TIME (0835 GMT)
Shell's first dividend cut in nearly a century has drawn mixed views among analysts, ranging
from 'this was coming', to 'issues were building up in the oil major for a while' or 'we were
expecting a cut later on this year".
Here's a quick view from the Street on Shell's dividend cut:
** Credit Suisse: "We felt that such a decision may come with a lag (i.e., by 2Q20), once
the near and long term may be better understood than what we know today, and may not be as large
a cut, considering that decisions on dividends are not taken lightly by the Super Majors."
** Bernstein: "Prudence wins over prowess and as such the Great Disease has caused the only
cut since the Great Depression in 1929."
** Citi: "While it is tempting to see today’s decision to cut the dividend as historic – RDS
refer to WWII as being the last – and a reflection of the severity of the CV19 crisis, the
problems have been building for a while. All roads lead back to the high price paid for BG and
the burden that this acquisition put on the company’s financial structure."
** Berenberg: "While it gives management breathing room and may allow a reset for a more
sustainable dividend policy over time, we believe that yield was the main attraction for
investors in the stock."
** JPM: "Unshackled: 66% divi cut a necessary evil"
(Thyagaraju Adinarayan)
*****
OPENING SNAPSHOT: SHELL SHOCKED (0735 GMT)
Sentiment is cautious.
Stocks ran out of steam after opening higher as Shell's first dividend cut in 80 years and a
set of dire earnings updates from European banks weighed. The boost from an experimental
treatment against Covid-19 showing good promise ran out.
Banks, insurers and oil & gas were the top sectoral losers. Banks are in negative territory
after as billions of euros in bad loans provisions and falling profits hit earnings at BBVA
, SocGen, among others.
Shell's 65% divi cut to 16 cents per share was enough to keep the oil sector in red.
The travel and leisure index, a fear and greed gauge of stock markets at coronavirus times,
is up 1.5% ahead of lockdown easing measures across Europe.
Airbus is the best performer on the pan-European STOXX 600 after its CEO said the
company was in talks with the French state regarding possible aid for the company.
Among the winners, Safran is up 5.5% after saying it has enough liquidity; Reckitt Benckiser
surges 4% after posting record sales on disinfectant boom.
(Stefano Rebaudo)
*****
ON THE RADAR: SHELL'S BIG DIVI CUT, MORE BANK EARNINGS (0635 GMT)
European stock futures point to more gains as investor optimism in this bounce back rally
was further boosted by Gilead's announcement that its experimental drug is showing promise as an
effective COVID-19 treatment.
But it's all about earnings in Europe today with tons of Q1 numbers coming out.
Shell's first dividend cut in 80 years comfortably steals the show. Like rest of
the sector it is hit by the collapse in global oil demand due to the coronavirus pandemic and
traders expect the oil major's shares to slide 4% this morning.
The banking sector continued to set aside billions of euros to cover for expected bad loans:
SocGen, Caixabank, BBVA and Lloyds were some of the big names reporting steep losses and
recording provisions.
Asset manager Amundi reported a 7.6% drop in assets under management but said it was
confident in the "robustness" of its results in 2020.
In other earnings-related news, telecom equipment maker Nokia's Q1 profit and revenues miss
consensus, Safran reported an 8.8% drop in like-for-like first-quarter revenue, but
said it had "sufficient liquidity" on March 31.
The defensive telco names Orange and KPN meanwhile reported in-line to
slightly better than expected results.
Riding on the increased demand for disinfectants Reckitt Benckiser reported record
sales and upped its 2020 outlook.
In other news, Volkswagen will have to delay indefinitely the resumption of production in
the U.S., at its Tennessee assembly plant.
The European Commission approved a 5 billion euro loan guarantee to Renault to
mitigate the impact of the coronavirus crisis.
(Stefano Rebaudo)
*****
MORNING CALL: COVID-19 TREATMENT HOPES TO LIFT STOCKS (0635 GMT)
European futures are trading convincingly in the black and the same goes for their U.S.
peers as new hopes we could soon be out of the coronavirus crisis are supporting market
sentiment.
Good results of an experimental Covid-19 treatment have been boosting stock markets across
the globe since yesterday afternoon.
Oil prices jumped again extending previous gains, also benefiting from better than expected
inventories data.
(Stefano Rebaudo)
*****
(Reporting by Thyagaraju Adinarayan, Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus in London and Stefano Rebaudo
in Milan)
