Live Markets: Opening snapshot: bank M&A spurs European equities
04/09/2020 08:36
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 Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com)
and Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London and Danilo Masoni
(danilo.masoni@thomsonreuters.com) and Stefano Rebaudo (stefano.rebaudo@thomsonreuters.com) in
Milan.
OPENING SNPASHOT: BANK M&A SPURS EUROPEAN EQUITIES (0727 GMT)
European stocks are mixed as a huge pull back in U.S. tech shares weighs, while M&A activity
in the banking sector in Spain is propping up banks and the IBEX35 index.
Sentiment seem to be only slightly affected by Wall Street slump overnight as investors are
inclined to go for profit taking rather than a massive risk-off move.
The Stoxx 600 is flat, with bank shares .SX7P up 1.4% after the announcement of merger
discussions between Spain’s Bankia BKIA.MC and Caixabank CABK.MC . Real estate sector
.SX86P is leading losses sliding 1.3%.
Tech sector .SX8P , down only slightly after being sold off at the opening as its U.S.
peers tumbled overnight, scoring the biggest drop in almost three months.
Bankia shares are up 32%, while Caixabank stocks are up 11.1%, with the IBEX 35 BANKS index
.IBEXIB staging a 6.4% rise.
(Stefano Rebaudo)
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ON THE RADAR: BANKING M&A, VONOVIA (0640 GMT)
European stocks are set to edge down at the opening shrugging off a huge pull back in U.S.
tech stocks while waiting for U.S. jobs data later in the day.
A big M&A move is expected in the banking sector with Bankia BKIA.MC and Caixabank
CABK.MC discussing a merger to create the biggest lender in Spain with more than 650 billion
euros in total assets; details of the potential deal could be announced today. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2G068O
Roche ROG.S received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration for a coronavirus versus flu test. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASN000BRP
On the earnings front, Berkeley BKGH.L confirmed its pre-tax profit guidance and said it
had net cash in excess of £1 billion ahead of next week’s dividend payment. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASN000BRW
More companies are looking for fresh capital. Shares in Vonovia VNAn.DE are down 3.4% in
early trade after the company said it was seeking to raise about 1 billion euros by offering new
shares to institutional investors, with proceeds to be used to repay debt due in the fourth
quarter. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASN000BQR Ryanair raised 400 million euros from shareholders via a share placement,
at a price of 11.35 per share. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASN000BS4
Shares in Kudelski KUD.S are up 4% in premarket trade after the company said its Internet
of things laboratory will become a test lab for Amazon’s Alexa voice services.
(Stefano Rebaudo)
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MORNING CALL: NO CLEAR DIRECTION YET (0528 GMT)
European stock futures seem not to be affected by a Wall Street fall overnight and are
hovering around the floating line with no clear direction yet.
Some analysts argue that the U.S. market just saw some profit taking and not a risk-off move
as the spillover into currencies and bonds was limited.
Investors await key U.S. job data later today.
U.S. stock indexes scored overnight their biggest one-day decline in nearly three months as
the technology sector was sold off.
(Stefano Rebaudo)
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