Live Markets: Dutch telco deal: meanwhile in Belgium...

Orange Belgium NV

07/09/2021 10:02

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    DUTCH TELCO DEAL: MEANWHILE IN BELGIUM... (0902 GMT)
    Enthusiasm seems to be waning in telco world after the
announcement of the T-Mobile Netherlands deal with the index of
the sector now up a meagre 0.3% after rising over 0.7% at the
start of trading. 
    In neighbouring Belgium, the mood isn't that good either
with a note from Citi downgrading Telenet to neutral with its
rating now in line with Proximus and Orange Belgium. 
    At the heart of the problem for Belgian operators is the
ongoing threat of a new player coming in to disrupt the market. 
    "Significant event risk from a possibly aggressive fourth
mobile entrant and a likely more competitive 2H21e affect all
operators", Citi analysts wrote. 
    "The biggest risk come from Reliance Industries that, after
reportedly being interested in T-Mobile NL, could see the
Belgium market as the next target", they added.
    The auction to buy cable company Voo is also adding to the
uncertainty regarding the future landscape of the sector.  
    Telenet is down over 2%, Orange Belgium is losing 0.4% while
Proximus is ticking up 0.2%. 
    
    (Julien Ponthus) 
    *****
    
     
        
    
    DUTCH TELCO DEAL BOOSTS SECTOR AT THE OPEN (0727 GMT) 
    Deutsche Telekom and Sweden's Tele2 jointly selling T-Mobile
Netherlands is the key driver of market price action as
Tuesday's session kicks off. 
    The German and Dutch operators are up 2.5% and 1.5%
respectively and the telecoms sector index is outperforming, up
0.7% versus a 0.1% decline for the broader STOXX 600 benchmark.
    Competitors of T-Mobile in the country are also rising, with
 KPN up 4% and Vodafone, which owns Ziggo, up 0.1%. 
    Among those headed lower is inter-dealer broker TP ICAP
which has lost 4.3% after reporting lower half-year profit. 
    Upmarket fashion retailer Ted Baker too is down 0.6%,
despite a 50% surge in second-quarter sales as the lifting of
COVID-19 restrictions in the UK boosted demand for formal
clothes.
     
    See: 
    Deutsche Telekom lifts T-Mobile US stake in Softbank swap
deal  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2Q90LJ
    Broker TP ICAP first half profit falls as market volatility
eases  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2Q91IM
    
    (Julien Ponthus) 
    *****  
    
    
    
    STIMULUS STILL THE NAME OF THE GAME (0704 GMT) 
    Strong trade data from China, speculation the Fed might 
push back tapering its bond purchases after last month's
lacklustre job creation and the prospect of more stimulus in
Japan are making for another risk-on session.
    World stocks have notched their eighth consecutive day of
gains to lifetime peaks in Asian hours, while Wall Street
futures point to near record openings after the long Labor Day
weekend.
    Japan's Topix index, having powered to 31-year highs after
Prime Minister Suga's abrupt departure, got an extra fillip as
Fumio Kishida, a contender to succeed Suga, called for a 30
trillion-yen stimulus package ($273 billion)  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2Q831E
    Australia's central bank, meanwhile, stuck with plans to
trim its bond buying programme but in a dovish concession it
extended the programme to at least mid-February. Next up on the
central banking front is Thursday's ECB meeting, where a
possible decision to slow bond purchases have lifted bond yields
to around seven-week highs. 
    On currency markets, the Australian dollar slipped 0.3%
after the RBA's decisiion to extend its stimulus programme,
while the yuan firmed modestly after data showing an unexpected
25.6% pick-up in Chinese exports last month.    
    And on the corporate news front, eyes on Allianz after
regulators reportedly launched an investigation into Germany's
No.1 financial company following the demise of some of its U.S.
investment funds  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2Q81EX. Deutsche Telekom shares rose 2%
premarket after the sale of its Dutch unit while it also struck
a share-swap deal with Softbank  9984.T  to up its stake in U.S.
unit T-Mobile  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2Q80D5.       
 
    
    Key developments that should provide more direction to
markets on Tuesday:
    
-China's Aug exports growth unexpectedly picks up speed in boost
to economy  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2Q9183
-Australia's central bank sticks to tapering, but extends
timeline  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2Q90HL
- Aluminium prices stay near 10-year peaks after Guinea coup. 
-Emerging markets: Argentina central bank 
- UK consumer spending rose by 15.4% last month compared with
August 2019  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL9N2PI00L
-German industrial output/ZEW sentiment 
-Auctions: US Treasury 3-year notes; T-bills, 12-month, 6-month,
3-month
    (Danilo Masoni) 
    *****

    
    
    NEW STOXX RECORD STILL ELUSIVE (0620 GMT)
    The STOXX 600 closed just one point shy of the 476.16 record
high reached on August 13 but with futures currently trading in
the red, a new milestone may remain elusive. 
    Asian markets had a good day though, and global equities,
measured by MSCI's gauge of 50 markets  .MIWD00000PUS  rose 
0.1% to log its eighth consecutive day of gains to record highs.
    Over on Wall Street, which was closed on Monday for a U.S.
holiday, futures are up 0.1% to 0.2%. 
    There's a fair batch of corporate news this morning,
particularly in the M&A space with Deutsche Telekom selling its
Dutch unit T-Mobile Netherlands to a consortium of private
equity houses for 5.1 billion euros. 
    In Italy, UniCredit's due diligence on the books of smaller
banking rival Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is on track and
proceeding as agreed, MPS chairwoman said. 
    On the macro side, German industrial output rose more than
expected in July after three monthly drops and in the UK, 
British house prices rose by 0.7% in August, the biggest
month-on-month rise for three months. 
    
    (Julien Ponthus) 
    *****
     
    

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