** Morgan Stanley says tariffs have increased the uncertainty for the European capital goods sector, but sees aftermarket mining businesses as a relatively well sheltered, making them a fairly defensive segment vs the wider sector
** European mining equipment names appear as a (relative) safe-haven, as their aftermarket businesses are supported by high commodities prices, it says
** MS says Sandvik SAND.ST is its preferred play and upgrades the Swedish metal cutting and mining equipment maker to "overweight" from "equal weight"
** It considers Sandvik's mining business as "best-in-class" given the company's outsized exposure to gold, lead in electrified mining equipment, and sees optionality around the CMD
** It raises Swedish mining and construction equipment maker Epiroc EPIRa.ST to "equal weight" from "underweight" citing the change in the sector's backdrop
** The brokerage cuts Weir Group WEIR.L to "equal weight" from "overweight" seeing the UK technology provider's balance sheet headroom angle now largely played out
COMPANY
NEW RATING
OLD RATING
Sandvik
Overweight
Equal-weight
Epiroc
Equal-weight
Underweight
Weir
Equal-weight
Overweight
Metso METSO.HE
Equal-weight
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(Reporting by Marta Frąckowiak)
((marta.frackowiak@thomsonreuters.com))