>>> TradeGate Pre-Market Indications

DAX:
  • Lufthansa (LHA TH) -1.8%
    • Citadel Europe Boosts Short Position in Lufthansa to 1.97%
  • Deutsche Telekom (DTE TH) -1.9%
  • E.On (EOAN TH) -2%
  • Fresenius Medical (FME TH) -2.5%
  • Fresenius SE (FRE TH) -2.7%
  • Siemens (SIE TH) -3.8%
  • VW (VOW3 TH) -3.9%
  • MTU Aero (MTX TH) -4%
  • Infineon (IFX TH) -4.1%
  • BMW (BMW TH) -4.2%
MDAX:
  • HelloFresh (HFG TH) +3%
  • Airbus (AIR TH) -2.9%
  • Telefonica Deutschland (O2D TH) -3.1%
  • Zalando (ZAL TH) -3.1%
  • Metro AG (B4B TH) -3.4%
  • Software AG (SOW TH) -4%
SDAX:
  • Shop Apotheke (SAE TH) +3.3%
  • Indus Holding (INH TH) +2.7%
  • Takkt (TTK TH) +1%
  • ADO Properties (ADJ TH) -1.6%
  • Encavis (CAP TH) -1.7%
  • DIC Asset (DIC TH) -2.2%
  • S&T (GROA TH) -3.1%
  • Bilfinger (GBF TH) -5.6%
    • Bilfinger Suspends 2020 Guidance Due Coronavirus, Oil Slump

WSJ : Senator Reports $1.4 Million in Stock Trades During Coronavirus Panic

Senator Reports $1.4 Million in Stock Trades During Coronavirus Panic
Georgia Republican Kelly Loeffler and her husband, New York Stock Exchange Chairman Jeffrey Sprecher, suffered losses but limited damage

Sen. Kelly Loeffler and her husband purchased and sold about $1.4 million in stocks in the past month amid the coronavirus market panic. They suffered losses but limited the investment damage through some timely trades, according to a summary provided by the Georgia Republican’s re-election campaign.

Ms. Loeffler and her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, who is chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, ended up with more paper losses on their stock purchases than they saved in dumping shares, according to a Wall Street Journal review of the senator’s financial disclosure.

In the latest filing, Ms. Loeffler reported that she and her husband bought about $590,000 of stock and sold about $845,000 of stock from Feb. 18 through March 13. If they had held the shares they sold through Monday, the stock would have been valued at $86,000 less than what they sold it for, according to the Journal analysis.

The stocks they bought declined even more in value since they purchased them, giving the couple paper losses of $102,000 through Monday.

Ms. Loeffler’s stock trades have been a hot topic in the special election for the seat to which Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp appointed the businesswoman in December when Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson retired. A spokesman for Ms. Loeffler called criticism of the transactions a baseless political attack and said that all daily trades are handled by professional investment advisers without the senator’s prior knowledge.

The prepandemic stock sales of at least one other senator, Richard Burr of North Carolina, is under Federal Bureau of Investigation scrutiny, but Ms. Loeffler’s spokesman said federal investigators haven’t contacted her. Ms. Loeffler’s disclosure report was reviewed by the Journal before she planned to file it Tuesday night.

Ms. Loeffler and her husband, the founder and chief executive of Intercontinental Exchange Inc., also exercised options to buy shares in the company, which provides their primary compensation, and sold them for about $10.9 million. This is a common practice for the couple. In the past three years, they have sold about $55 million of company shares for expenses and portfolio diversification, a campaign spokesman said. Ms. Loeffler and Mr. Sprecher have an estimated net worth of at least $500 million, making her the richest member of Congress.

Mr. Sprecher also closed out a series of stock options in which he would have had to pay his counterparties if the prices of the stocks slipped below specific price targets. When he exited from those positions, most of the stocks’ prices were well above those strike prices. If he had kept those options through Monday, he would have theoretically owed some of his counterparties $133,000, according to the Journal analysis.

Ms. Loeffler and her husband sold shares of retail companies Lululemon Athletica Inc., Ross Stores Inc. and AutoZone Inc., just as they began to drop in the market decline, while the couple’s purchases included about $115,000 each in DuPont de Nemours Inc. and Chevron Corp., which both declined in the past month.

Ms. Loeffler is battling to hold on to her Senate seat. A GOP rival, Rep. Doug Collins, a four-term congressman, began hammering her over her stock trades in TV appearances and on social media after they were disclosed.

“People are losing their jobs, their businesses, their retirements, and even their lives and Kelly Loeffler is profiting off their pain?" Mr. Collins tweeted March 20. “I’m sickened just thinking about it.”

Stephen Lawson, a spokesman for Ms. Loeffler’s campaign, texted in a statement, “These false attacks against Senator Loeffler—from the Left, from fake news media, from career politicians—are exactly why people are fed up with Washington.”

When Mr. Kemp appointed Ms. Loeffler, he hoped the wealthy business executive and political newcomer could win over key suburban and women voters as the state experiences an influx of younger people and minorities, many from the North.

Ms. Loeffler, 49 years old, is self-funding her Senate bid—an attractive prospect for national Republicans who would rather focus their resources on more at-risk incumbents in Colorado, Arizona and North Carolina. Now Ms. Loeffler’s wealth could become a political liability.

The entry into the contest of Mr. Collins, a Trump loyalist who had also sought the Senate appointment, alarmed some Republicans in Georgia and Washington worried that an intraparty battle could hurt chances of holding the seat, and could put the GOP’s control of the Senate at risk.

FT : Invesco cuts value of Barnett’s unquoted holdings by 60%

Invesco cuts value of Barnett’s unquoted holdings by 60%
US fund manager to offload problem investments to avoid Neil Woodford-style liquidity crunch

Invesco’s Mark Barnett has suffered a significant mark down in the value of his unlisted investments, forcing the fund manager to pledge the problem assets will be ditched to avoid a Neil Woodford-style liquidity crunch.

The US group has applied a 60 per cent writedown to the value of the unquoted companies held in the £3.4bn High Income and £1.5bn Income funds, triggering falls of around 5 per cent in the net asset values of the funds.

Invesco sought to distance itself from the prospect of a liquidity crisis similar to the one that felled Mr Woodford, the former star UK stockpicker who had been Mr Barnett’s mentor, by vowing to sell the unlisted component of both funds and reinvest the proceeds in publicly traded large and mid-cap companies.

The coronavirus-induced market swings of the last month have pummelled Mr Barnett’s funds, depressing the value of its public holdings and increasing the weighting of unlisted investments relative to the rest of the portfolio.

Morningstar, the data provider, last week said High Income, which is the fourth-largest equity fund domiciled in the UK and is popular with British savers and pension funds, had lost a third of its value in 2020.

At the end of March, the unlisted component for High Income stood at 8.4 per cent and 9.1 per cent for the Income fund, placing them dangerously close to a 10 per cent regulatory cap on unquoted investments.

Mr Woodford’s flagship income fund, which breached the 10 per cent limit on several occasions, was forced to close last year after his large exposure to unquoted and illiquid assets made him unable to meet a surge in investor redemptions.

Invesco said its decision to offload its unlisted holdings was in response to “a significant shift in risk tolerance towards illiquid or unquoted assets in the last year”, as well as the “recent market dislocation and opportunities arising”.

The fund manager said large and mid-cap quoted companies had been “heavily discounted, well below our assessment of their true value”.

But the move marks a U-turn for Invesco, which had previously emphasised the differences between Mr Barnett’s strategy and that of Mr Woodford.

In an apology to investors over his poor performance last year, Mr Barnett said he had “materially changed” the way his funds invested in unquoted companies since taking over the management of the funds from Mr Woodford in 2014.

It said the pivot away from unlisted investments was “entirely consistent with our valuation driven, risk-adjusted investment management strategy”, pointing out that more than 70 per cent of Mr Barnett’s funds is already invested in publicly listed companies with a market value of more than £1bn.

“These are extraordinary times which call for decisive and positive action to look after the best interests of clients in the short and longer term,” it said.

FT Adviser, a Financial Times publication, first reported news of the asset value writedown.

>>> What to look at today - 1st of April 2020

U.S. stock futures declined as investors assessed worsening American coronavirus figures as a new quarter begins. Asian shares traded mixed.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index slid more than 2% after President Donald Trump warned of a “painful” two weeks ahead, with the country grappling to get the outbreak under control and New York City’s death toll now topping 1,000. Stocks in Japan hit session lows in the final hour of trading, while Australia’s rallied more than 3%. Hong Kong shares had a modest retreat, with two of the city’s largest lenders, Standard Chartered Plc and HSBC Holdings Plc, suspending dividend payments because of the virus. Chinese shares outperformed as a private reading on the country’s manufacturing sector beat expectations, rebounding in March. Treasuries added to gains.
US After Hours VRNT -11.6%, BB -9% are weak on earnings, PUMP +1.8% IFRX +75,4% VEL +10%

Nikkei -2.70% Hang Seng -1.15% CSI +0.64% Shanghai +0.27% Shenzen +0.69%

Eur$ 1.1025 CNH 7.0983 CNY 7.0883 JPY 107.49 GBP 1.2379 CHF 0.9608 RUB 78.6224 TRY 6.6247 WTI$20.45 -0.15%

S&P -3.23% EuroStoxx -3.38% FTSE -3.78% Dax -3.25% SMI -2.5%

Macro :
- Einhorn’s Funds Fall 12% in March With Market Plunge Taking Toll
- Rogers, Gundlach Say the Worst of the Rout Has Yet to Come

Keep an eye on :
- ACKB BB : Ackermans & Van Haaren Reconsiders 2019 Dividend Payout
- ADS GY : Adidas Stops 2020 Share Buyback Program
- ADP FP : Aéroports de Paris Won’t Pay Remainder of Dividend for 2019
- AKER NO : Aker Says Majority Holder Advises Reducing Dividend
- AMS SW : Underwriters to Place 72.4m AMS Shares After Rights Offer: Terms
- AMS SW : AMS Says 15m Shares Placed at CHF9.20 Apiece; Take-Up at 70%
- APAM NA : Aperam Defers Share Buyback Program Start by 6 Mos on Covid-19
- BAMI IM : Banco BPM Suspends Dividend, in Line With ECB Request
- BARC LN : Barclays Says It Won’t Pay Interim Dividend for 2020
- DTY LN : U.K. Funeral Guidelines Amid Virus Will Reduce Prices, Peel Says
- GBF GY : Bilfinger Suspends 2020 Guidance Due Coronavirus, Oil Slump
- ELIS FP : Elis Scraps Div., Sees ‘Very Material’ Covid-19 Impact in Europe
- FCA IM : Fiat Chrysler Didn’t Mention Any Delay With Peugeot Deal: Rtrs
- GFC FP : Gecina Proposing to Moderate 2019 Dividend to EU5.30/Share
- GLEN LN : Glencore Puts $2.6 Billion Dividend on Hold Amid Virus Risks
- HEXAB SS : Hexagon Postpones Dividend Decision Amid Coronavirus Fallout
- HSBA LN : HSBC Cancels Fourth Interim Dividend of 21c Per Share (1)
- INDT SS : Indutrade to Reconsider Dividend Proposal of SEK4.75/Share
- JD/ LN : JD Sports stops paying rent to landlords
- LLOY LN : PRA Welcomes Decision by U.K. Banks to Suspend Dividends
- MUv2 GY : Munich Re Withdraws Guidance Yet Keeps Dividend Intact: React
- KN FP : Natixis to Scrap Dividend Proposal for 2019 Amid Covid-19 Crisis
- NEX FP ; Nexans Withdraws Dividend Proposal for 2019 on Covid-19 Outbreak
- NMC LN : NMC Lenders Start to Tally Losses as Trading Unit Goes on Block
- NDA SS : Nordea Bank Proposes to Postpone Decision on Dividend Payment
- NYF SS : Nyfosa Postpones Acquisition of Portfolios From SBB i Norden
- RBS LN : RBS to Skip Quarterly, Interim Dividends Until End of 2020
- POM FP : Plastic Omnium to Cut Proposed FY Div to EU0.49/Shr
- RNO FP : Renault Plans to Guarantee Full Pay for 36k Workers: Echos
- SAN SM : Santander Appoints Rafael Noya as Head of Global Debt Finance
- STLN SW : Schmolz + Bickenbach Gets EU95m Shareholder Loan from BigPoint
- GLE FP : Société Générale to Cancel Dividend Distribution for 2019
- SOFF NO : Solstad Offshore Reports Outline to Restructure Debt, Pare Fleet
- STAN LN : StanChart to Suspend Share Buyback Program Announced Feb. 28
- TLG GY : TLG Immobilien CFO to Leave Company in Aroundtown Takeover
- FP FP : Total Outlook to Negative by Moody's; L-T Rating Affirmed
- UBI IM : UBI Suspends Dividend in Line With ECB Request
- UCG IM : UniCredit Top Management Decides to Waive Entire 2020 Bonus
- FR FP :
- VWS DC : Vestas Secures 202 MW Order in Sweden

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 1st pf April 2020

>>> Up
* Aareal Bank Raised to Buy at HSBC; PT 21 euros
* Chemring Group Raised to Buy at Berenberg; PT 235 pence
* Deutsche Boerse Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* InterContinental Hotels Raised to Outperform at RBC
* J D Wetherspoon Raised to Buy at HSBC; PT 1,020 pence
* M&G Raised to Outperform at RBC; PT 160 pence
* Man Group Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 154 pence
* Marston's Raised to Hold at HSBC; PT 40 pence
* Mitchells & Butlers Raised to Buy at HSBC; PT 270 pence
* NNIT Raised to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 85 kroner
* Proximus Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank; PT 21 euros
* Remedy Entertainment Raised to Buy at Inderes; PT 18 euros
* Rio Tinto Raised to Outperform at BMO; PT 4,200 pence
* LSE Cut to Reduce at AlphaValue
* Sabadell Cut to Sell at SocGen; PT 39 euro cents
* SCA Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 103 kronor
* Ultra Electronics Raised to Buy at Berenberg; PT 2,300 pence

>>> Down
* 3i Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 880 pence
* Anglo American Cut to Market Perform at BMO; PT 1,400 pence
* Antofagasta Cut to Market Perform at BMO; PT 750 pence
* Ashmore Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 386 pence
* Demant Cut to Sell at Handelsbanken
* Fortum Oyj Cut to Reduce at HSBC; PT 12 euros
* GN Store Nord Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; PT 324 kroner
* Huhtamaki Oyj PT Cut to 35 euros from 50 euros at Berenberg
* KPN Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 2.70 euros
* Nemetschek Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Safran Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein; PT 83 euros
* Standard Life Aberdeen Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley
* Uniper Cut to Reduce at HSBC; PT 21 euros

>>> Initiation
* Buzzi Unicem Resumed Buy at Citi; PT 22.50 euros
* Sixt Rated New Buy at Jefferies; PT 80 euros

>>> Call
* IHG’s Defensive Model Undervalued, RBC Upgrades to Outperform
* MS Cautious on EU Asset Managers, Prefers Private Players
* U.K. Bank Stocks May Underperform Peers on Dividend Cuts: Citi
* Ultra, Chemring Raised as Defense Should Be Defensive: Berenberg

>>> After Hours Summary: VRNT -11.6%, BB -9% are weak on earnin

After Hours Summary: VRNT -11.6%, BB -9% are weak on earnings

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: PUMP +1.8%, GVA +0.1%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: IFRX +75.4% (doses first patient in trial investigating IFX-1 in patients with severe COVID-19-induced pneumonia), VEL +10.7% (files to delay its 10-K), NVAX +9.7% (signs NanoFlu manufacturing agreement with EBS), OII +6.5% (confirms Q1 guidance but is withdrawing its full-year 2020 guidance), VECO +3.8% (reports prelim Q1 revs in-line with consensus), TWO +3.2% (details additional risk factors in 10-K), CMTL +2.4% (provides COVID-19 update; withdraws outlook), SGMS +2.1% (signs new 4-year deal with LOTTO Bayern in Germany), SKT +1.9% (withdraws 2020 guidance), SIX +1.9% (adopts short-term stockholder rights plan), BDX +1.1% (launch of rapid serology test for detection of COVID-19 exposure), AKR +0.5% (withdraws FY20 guidance)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: PAYS -20% (postpones earnings call), VRNT -11.6%, BB -9%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: XRX -3% (Xerox withdraws its offer to acquire HPQ), DK -2.2% (to dropdown logistics assets to DKL), AGNC -1.9% (believes that the worst is behind it for its Agency MBS portfolio), HPQ -1.8% (Xerox withdraws its offer to acquire HPQ), MMM -1.2% (provides details about capacity increases of N95 respirators), GIII -1% (announces employee furloughs), MTCH -0.9% (says it's seeing fewer new users joining; also co has delayed several product feature and press launches), NOC -0.7% (files mixed securities shelf offering)

>>> US CLose Dow

Closing Stock Market Summary

The stock market ended the tumultuous first quarter in negative territory on Tuesday, while investors continued to assess the latest news on the coronavirus and the policies proposed to address its impact. The S&P 500 closed near session lows with a 1.6% decline after a brief stay in positive territory early in the session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.8%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.0%, and the Russell 2000 lost 0.5%.   

Notably, President Trump said a $2 trillion infrastructure bill should be included in the fourth part of a stimulus bill with U.S. interest rates near zero. Prior to the statement, Bloomberg reported that White House officials were looking into a $600 billion relief bill for mortgage markets, the travel industry, and state governments.

There was another story from a Bloomberg reporter that President Trump approved a proposal pushed for by some businesses to delay payment of certain tariffs by 90 days. An announcement could come as soon as this week. Market reaction was muted, although shares of Caterpillar (CAT 116.04, +4.33, +3.9%) likely benefited from the president's infrastructure proposal. 

Instead, quarter-end rebalancing contributed to the outperformance of the distressed energy sector (+1.6%) and, conversely, the sharp declines in the defensive-oriented utilities (-4.0%) and real estate (-3.3%) sectors.

On the coronavirus front, NIAID Director Dr. Fauci said there have been "glimmers of hope" that social distancing is helping to curtail the spread of COVID-19, but the situation remained dire with the number of infections continuing to rise in the U.S. On a related note, Texas Governor Abbott issued a "stay at home" order until May 4. 

Separately, the Fed established a repurchase agreement facility as an alternative source for foreign central banks to temporarily exchange their U.S. Treasury securities for U.S. dollars. This was simply the latest "whatever it takes" action by the Fed to support financial markets. 

U.S. Treasuries had a relatively quiet day, ultimately closing mixed and little changed. The 2-yr yield declined one basis point to 0.20%, while the 10-yr yield increased three basis points to 0.70%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.2% to 98.99. WTI crude increased 1.5% to $20.52/bbl, although it was up more than 8% in the session. 

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data:

  • The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for March dropped to 120.0 (consensus 110.0) from an upwardly revised 132.6 (from 130.7) for February. The March reading is the lowest since July 2017.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that the downturn was not as bad as feared; however, the prevailing expectation is that consumer confidence will get much worse due to the impact of the coronavirus and its effect on consumer attitudes about job security and income growth prospects.
  • The Chicago PMI decreased to 47.8 in March (consensus 40.0) from 49.0 in February.
  • The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for January increased 3.1% following an upwardly revised 2.8% increase in December (from +2.9%).

Looking ahead, investors will receive the ISM Manufacturing Index for March, the ADP Employment Change Report for March, Construction Spending for February, the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index, and auto and truck sales for March on Wednesday. 

  • Nasdaq Composite: -14.2%
  • S&P 500: -20.0%
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: -23.2%
  • Russell 2000: -31.0%