>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 27th of August 2020 V2(+)

>>> Up
* Ambu Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 220 kroner
* Aveva Raised to Hold at HSBC; PT 4,190 pence
* Leoni Raised to Hold at Hauck & Aufhaeuser; PT 6 euros (+)
* Picanol Raised to Accumulate at KBC Securities (+)
* Schindler Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Shell Raised to Outperform at Exane; PT 1,590 pence

>>> Down
* Antofagasta Cut to Hold at Investec; PT 1,118 pence (+)
* Aroundtown Cut to Underweight at Barclays; PT 4.60 euros
* B&S Group Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 6.60 euros
* Deutsche Post Cut to Add at Baader Helvea; PT 40 euros
* Encavis Cut to Neutral at Oddo BHF; PT 15 euros (+)
* Flughafen Wien Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 26 euros
* Homeserve Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 1,370 pence
* Riverstone Cut to Hold at Jefferies
* Siegfried Cut to Add at Baader Helvea; PT 520 Swiss francs
* Tecan Cut to Hold at Berenberg; PT 415 Swiss francs

>>> Initiation
* Airtel Africa Rated New Buy at Afrinvest; PT 82.10 pence
* Phoenix Group Resumed Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Reabold Rated New Buy at Panmure Gordon; PT 1.80 pence

>>> Call
* Eiffage 1H Trading Subdued But Expect Recovery in 2H, Citi Says (+)
* Fevertree Estimates Lowered at Jefferies Ahead of 1H Results (+)
* Givaudan 2025 Plan Is ‘More Evolution than Revolution’: Vontobel (+)
* Homeserve, B&S Cut by Morgan Stanley, Rentokil Among Top Picks
* Schindler Upgraded as Valuation Fair, Kone Still Underweight: MS
* Tecan’s ‘Toppy’ Valuation Sees Berenberg End 10-Year Buy Call
* Telecom Italia Merger With Open Fibre Is Still Possible: BofA (+)
* Volvo Still Top Pick Among Heavy Trucks: Handelsbanken (+)
* WPP Results Beat ‘Strong,’ Outlook Reassures, Goldman Says (+)

>>> Stoxx 600 Pre-Market Indications

  • GVC (6GI TH) +2.1%
  • Eurofins Scientific (ESF TH) +1.3%
  • TUI (TUI1 TH) -1%
  • Kering (PPX TH) -1%
  • HelloFresh (HFG TH) -1.6%
  • Mowi (PND TH) -1.7%
  • Delivery Hero (DHER TH) -1.8%
    • Delivery Hero Buys InstaShop at Initial Purchase Price of ~$270m
  • Elekta (EJXB TH) -3.2%
  • Rolls-Royce (RRU TH) -7.9%
    • *ROLLS-ROYCE 1H ADJ. OPER LOSS GBP1.67B, EST. LOSS GBP191.8M

>>> TradeGate Pre-MArket Indications

DAX:
  • Delivery Hero (DHER TH) -1.8%
    • Delivery Hero Buys InstaShop at Initial Purchase Price of ~$270m
MDAX:
  • Evonik (EVK TH) +1.2%
  • Aroundtown (AT1 TH) -0.8%
    • Aroundtown Cut to Underweight at Barclays; PT 4.60 euros
SDAX:
  • Hamborner REIT (HAB TH) +2.1%
  • Steinhoff (SNH TH) +1.4%
  • Instone Real Estate (INS TH) -2.2%
    • Instone Real Estate Announces Capital Increase of About EU182M

WSJ : TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer Quits as Trump Pushes Chinese App to Sell U.S. Busi

TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer Quits as Trump Pushes Chinese App to Sell U.S. Business
In a letter to staff, Mr. Mayer said the political environment had “sharply changed” in recent weeks

TikTok’s Chief Executive Kevin Mayer said he would be leaving the social-media platform about three months into the job, as the company comes under increasing pressure from the White House over its ties to China.

In a letter to staff, Mr. Mayer said the political environment had “sharply changed” in recent weeks and the role of CEO would look very different after an expected sale of TikTok’s U.S. business.

The longtime media executive, who left Walt Disney Co. in May for TikTok, said he made the decision to step down after “significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require” in the event of such a sale.

Vanessa Pappas, currently the U.S. general manager of the app, would serve as interim head for TikTok in his absence, he said in the note, a copy of which was seen by The Wall Street Journal. The Financial Times first reported Mr. Mayer’s intention to step down.

A TikTok spokesperson said, “We appreciate that the political dynamics of the last few months have significantly changed what the scope of Kevin’s role would be going forward, and fully respect his decision. We thank him for his time at the company and wish him well.”

>>> What to look at today -27th of August 2020

A rally that pushed global equities to a record stalled Thursday ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on a monetary policy framework review. Treasuries edged higher.
Asian stocks traded mixed, with Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong declining, while China posted modest gains and Australia outperformed. U.S. futures dipped while Europe’s were flat. A surge in technology shares earlier pushed the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite to fresh highs for a fourth straight day.
Oil remained near a five-month high ahead of expected disruption from Hurricane Laura, which is set to slam ashore Thursday morning. The offshore yuan traded at around the highest since January amid signs of tight liquidity, while the dollar was steady. Australian bonds advanced on fresh quantitative easing purchases.
US After Hours NTAP +8.3%, BOX +8.2% up big on earnings; WSM -5%, SPLK -1.7% lower on earnings

Nikkei -0.44% Hang Seng -0.89% CSI +0.34% Shanghai +0.52% Shenzen +0.92%

Eur$ 1.1828 CNH 6.8792 CNY 6.8842 JPY 106.01 GBP 1.3206 CHF 0.9078 RUB 75.4781 WTI$ 43.39 Unch

S&P -0.19% Nasdaq -0.30% EuroStoxx -0.03% FTSE +0.05% Dax +0.12% SMI

Macro :
- Gold Is Bigger Bubble Than Tech, Says $63 Billion Asset Manager
- Germany to Use EU Funds to Trim About 15 Billion Euros From Debt
- Italy, Spain, France Reject Lockdowns Despite Covid Rise (1)
- Swiss GDP Contracts 8.2% Q/q in 2Q; Est. Contracts 9% Q/q

Keep an eye on :
- AGS BB : Ageas Subscribes to Taiping Re Capital Raise for HK$3.1b
- AMGO LN : Amigo Founder Benamor Says He’ll Cut Stake Below 10% by Thursday
- ARYN SW : Aryzta Proposed Chair Gets Support from Swiss Proxy Adviser
- BALN SW : Baloise First Half Profit Misses Estimates
- BAYN GY : Black Farmers Sue Bayer For Failure to Point Out Roundup Harms
- BIOVICB SS : Biovica International to Offer SEK110m Shrs
- BME LN : B&M Could Replace ITV in FTSE 100 Index, LSE Says
- EN FP : Bouygues First Half Revenue EU14.76 Bln, -15% Y/y
- BWO NO : BW Offshore Second Quarter Net Income Beats Estimates
- COPN SW : Cosmo Says FDA Approves Cassiopea’s Winlevi
- DHER GY : Delivery Hero Buys InstaShop at Initial Purchase Price of ~$270m
- EQNR NO : Equinor to Cut Staff by 20% in U.S. to Weather Oil Price Slump
- FGR FP : Eiffage First Half Order Book EU17 Bln
- EVS BB : EVS Broadcast First Half Revenue EU39.6 Mln
- FIE GY : Fielmann Hits Corona Bump, Reiterates Financial Forecast
- GFS LN : G4S’s GBP300m Prison Contract Halted Amid Legal Challenge: BBC
- GIVN SW : Givaudan Targets Average Organic Sales Growth of 4%-5%
- HNSA SS : Hansa Biopharma Holder Nexttobe to Offer 3.6m Shrs via Carnegie, SEK240/Shr
- HSBA LN : HSBC's $4.5 Billion Cuts Not Enough; Visibility Better: BI Focus
- IIA AV : Immofinanz First Half Rental Income EU145.5 Mln
- INS GY : Instone Real Estate 1H Adjusted Revenue EU179.6 Mln, +3.1% Y/y
- ISN SW : Intershop First Half Net Income CHF33.9 Mln, -19% Y/y
- KFASTB SS : K-fast Holding to Offer 2m Shares via Danske Bank, @ SEK252/Share
- LONN SW : Lonza Optimistic on FDA Green Light for Moderna Vaccine: Market
- MARI AV : *MARINOMEND SAYS CARRAGELOSE CUT SARS-COV-2 REPLICATION 99%
- MB IM : Delfin Says ECB Authorizes Raising Mediobanca Stake Above 10%
- NN NA : NN Group: Holders of 44.1% of Shares to Get Dividend in Shares
- PAH3 GY : Porsche Postpones Launch of Roomier Taycan EV to Early Next Year
- QLRO SS : Qliro to Offer SEK210m Shares via Carnegie, 30m Shares @ SEK7/share
- RR/ LN : Rolls-Royce to Close Nottinghamshire Site, Scale Back Lancashire
- SALM NO : Salmar Second Quarter Operating Ebit Beats Highest Estimate
- SON PL : Sonae First Half Net Loss EU75 Mln Vs. Profit EU38 Mln Y/y
- SRCG SW : Sunrise Second Quarter Adjusted Ebitda 1.2% Above Estimates
- TIT IM : Italy Govt. Set to Approve Telecom Italia Grid Plan: Repubblica
- TLG GY : TLG Immobilien First Half FFO EU78.3 Mln, +9.5% Y/y

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 27th of August 2020

>>> Up
* Ambu Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 220 kroner
* Aveva Raised to Hold at HSBC; PT 4,190 pence
* Schindler Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Shell Raised to Outperform at Exane; PT 1,590 pence

>>> Down
* Aroundtown Cut to Underweight at Barclays; PT 4.60 euros
* B&S Group Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 6.60 euros
* Deutsche Post Cut to Add at Baader Helvea; PT 40 euros
* Flughafen Wien Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 26 euros
* Homeserve Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 1,370 pence
* Riverstone Cut to Hold at Jefferies
* Siegfried Cut to Add at Baader Helvea; PT 520 Swiss francs
* Tecan Cut to Hold at Berenberg; PT 415 Swiss francs

>>> Initiation
* Airtel Africa Rated New Buy at Afrinvest; PT 82.10 pence
* Phoenix Group Resumed Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Reabold Rated New Buy at Panmure Gordon; PT 1.80 pence

>>> Call
* Homeserve, B&S Cut by Morgan Stanley, Rentokil Among Top Picks
* Schindler Upgraded as Valuation Fair, Kone Still Underweight: MS
* Tecan’s ‘Toppy’ Valuation Sees Berenberg End 10-Year Buy Call

>>> US After Hours Summary: NTAP +8.3%, BOX +8.2% up big on earnings; WSM -5%, SPLK -1.7% lower on earnings

After Hours Summary: NTAP +8.3%, BOX +8.2% up big on earnings; WSM -5%, SPLK -1.7% lower on earnings

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: NTAP +8.3%, BOX +8.2%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: AMC +3.3% (to reopen additional 170 theatres), ROL +1.9% (appoints Gary W. Rollins as Board chair; promotes Jerry Gahlhoff to COO), IGT +1.2% (expands PlaySports offering), SIX +0.8% (amends credit facility), CCL +0.2% (extends pause in cruise operations in Australia and New Zealand), DIS +0.1% (NBA playoff games postponed today)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: GEF -5.4%, WSM -5%, LCI -4%, SMTC -2.2%, SPLK -1.7%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: AEYE -7.9% (stock offering), ODT -4.5% (stock offering), LI -3% (profit taking from late-session move on Wed), DKNG -1.4% (NBA playoff games postponed today), GPRE -0.6% (granted motion to be dismis from lawsuit), AB -0.4% (names new CFO)

Fwd:Briefing; WRAPX; After Hours Summary: NTAP +8.3%, BOX +8.2% up big on earnings; WSM -5%, SPLK -1.7% lower on earnings

After Hours Summary: NTAP +8.3%, BOX +8.2% up big on earnings; WSM -5%, SPLK -1.7% lower on earnings

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: NTAP +8.3%, BOX +8.2%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: AMC +3.3% (to reopen additional 170 theatres), ROL +1.9% (appoints Gary W. Rollins as Board chair; promotes Jerry Gahlhoff to COO), IGT +1.2% (expands PlaySports offering), SIX +0.8% (amends credit facility), CCL +0.2% (extends pause in cruise operations in Australia and New Zealand), DIS +0.1% (NBA playoff games postponed today)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: GEF -5.4%, WSM -5%, LCI -4%, SMTC -2.2%, SPLK -1.7%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: AEYE -7.9% (stock offering), ODT -4.5% (stock offering), LI -3% (profit taking from late-session move on Wed), DKNG -1.4% (NBA playoff games postponed today), GPRE -0.6% (granted motion to be dismis from lawsuit), AB -0.4% (names new CFO)

>>> US Close Dow +0.30% S&P +1.02% Nasdaq +1.73% Russell -0.70%

Closing Stock Market Summary

The S&P 500 (+1.0%) and Nasdaq Composite (+1.7%) rallied to fresh record highs on Wednesday, propelled higher by some eye-popping gains in the mega-cap stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased just 0.3%, while the Russell 2000 was left in the dust with a 0.7% decline. 

Highlighting a few of the moves: Salesforce (CRM 272.32, +56.27, +26.0%) surged 26% following its earnings report, Facebook (FB 303.91, +23.09, +8.2%) rose 8% on no news, and Netflix (NFLX 547.53, +56.95, +11.6%) rose 11% on no news. Apple (AAPL 506.09, +6.79, +1.4%) and Tesla (TSLA 2153.17, +129.83, +6.4%) were fueled by a pair of Street-high price-target increases. 

Consequently, today's leadership came from the S&P 500 communication services (+3.7%), information technology (+2.1%), and consumer discretionary (+1.5%) sectors, which are home to many of the mega-caps. In the afternoon, the gains broadened out to the materials (+1.0%), industrials (+0.1%), and consumer staples (+0.1%) sectors. 

Notably, the market internals weren't as bullish. Declining issues outnumbered advancing issues at the NYSE and Nasdaq by a comfortable margin. The biggest laggards were found within the energy (-2.2%), utilities (-1.2%), and real estate (-1.2%) sectors. 

In other developments, durable goods orders increased 11.2% m/m in July (Briefing.com consensus +3.9%), and Moderna (MRNA 70.50, +4.25, +6.4%) said its COVID-19 vaccine generated a promising immune response in ten elderly patients. 

For some perspective on today's record-setting performance, the S&P 500 finished the day up 58.7% from its March 23 low, up 7.7% for the year, and 13.0% above its 200-day moving average (3079). The latter raises the risk for a technical correction, although the momentum in the market can go on for longer than expected. 

U.S. Treasuries finished the day little changed. The 2-yr yield decreased one basis point to 0.15%, and the 10-yr yield increased one basis point to 0.69%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.1% to 92.91. WTI crude futures increased by 0.1% to $43.39/bbl.

Reviewing Wednesday's economic data:

  • New orders for durable goods increased 11.2% m/m in July (consensus +3.9%) from an upwardly revised 7.7% (from 7.6%) in June. Excluding transportation, new orders jumped 2.4% m/m (consensus +1.8%) following an upwardly revised 4.0% increase (from 3.6%) in June.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that increased orders were seen across the manufacturing complex (other than nondefense aircraft and parts), underscoring a recovery-minded disposition in the wake of the COVID shutdown period.
  • The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index declined 6.5% following a 3.3% decrease in the prior week.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report, the second estimate for Q2 GDP, and Pending Home Sales for July on Thursday.

  • Nasdaq Composite +30.0% YTD
  • S&P 500 +7.7% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.7% YTD
  • Russell 2000 -6.5% YTD