* STOXX 600 down 0.2%
* Wall Street closed for MLK day
* Fevertree falls after Xmas trading update
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: HOLDING THE LINE (0903 GMT)
Very much like their Asian peers, European stocks are holding close to the highs reached on
Friday rather than moving further while Wall Street is off celebrating MLK day.
There are a few spectacular moves in the UK: Fevertree Drinks is down over 20%,
after the premium tonic water maker warned about subdued Christmas trading.
The stock has lost over 60% since its 2018 highs and is back to where it was at the end of
Q1 2017. It's fair to say that Fevertree, once a 'wonder stock' with four digit increases over
the years, is feeling the consumer gloom like the rest of the UK PLC.
Talking of which, Intu Properties is also down 6% after saying it is seeking to raise equity
as its exposure to UK retail bites into its spreadsheet. A report by the Sunday Times said it
planned to tap 1 billion pounds of emergency cash as soon as next month.
Other interesting moves include shares in genetic testing company Qiagen, which are
the second best performers on the STOXX index after a report about a possible acquisition.
British defence company BAE Systems is also among the top winners after saying it
would spend $2.2 billion to acquire two units being offloaded as a result of the merger of U.S.
rivals Raytheon and United Technologies.
Instead of the usual snapshot of European bourses, most of them hovering between -0.1% and
-0.5%, here's something more entertaining: A little over 5 years of Fevertree on the stock
market.
The stock is up over 2.000 percent from the end of 2014 to September 2018 and down over 60%
from that high till now.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
ON THE RADAR: BIG FALLS SHARP MOVES SEEN FOR INTU AND FEVERTREE (0754 GMT)
Yes, we still need to wait a bit for the Q4 season to get into full speed but that doesn't
mean there's nothing going on in the corporate world.
Intu Properties for instance is under the spotlight and could fall heavily after it said it
is targeting an equity raise in its bid to strengthen its balance sheet.
Another sharp move expected at the open could come for premium tonic water maker Fevertree
Drinks – once an investors’ darling – which was hurt by subdued Christmas trading in Britain.
Talking about raising equity France’s Iliad launched a 1.4 billion euros capital increase to
finance a share buyback and French hotels group Accor also said it was launching its 300 million
euros buyback programme.
In the world of M&A, Anglo American announced a deal to buy Sirius Minerals for 404.9
million pounds while China’s Guoxuan confirmed it was in talks with Volkswagen but said there
was any binding deal yet.
Also, Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky and his junior partner Patrik Tkac said on Monday
that they had raised their stake in debt-laden retailer Casino.
(Julien Ponthus)
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MORNING CALL: A TICK OR TWO HIGHER (0632 GMT)
European shares ended on a new record high on Friday but much of that momentum seems to be
fading out somewhat with Asian shares making their camp on high ground rather than climbing
higher.
Not much in store today regarding the Q4 earnings season or macro indicators.
Financial spreadbetters expect London's FTSE to open 12 points higher, Frankfurt's DAX up
13 points to 13,539 and Paris' CAC to rise 12 points to 6,112.
The last two indexes are in range to reach important milestones if the market switches gear
and accelerates.
6,168.15 points was the CAC 40's highest level prior of the financial crisis on June 1 2007
and the Dax will reach its highest point ever if it goes beyond 13569.89 points.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)
