Stocks in Asia traded mixed Tuesday, with many markets closed for the Lunar New Year. The dollar edged lower and Treasury yields stabilized after gains.
Australian shares staged the biggest climb in more than two years as financials rallied after the results of a yearlong inquiry into misconduct in the financial services sector published Monday were not as harsh as had been anticipated. Japanese stocks were little changed and U.S. futures edged lower in Asian trading. European futures suggested the markets will open higher. The Australian dollar reversed a slide prompted by disappointing retail sales data after the central bank refrained from adopting a dovish tilt as it left interest rates unchanged.
US After Hours CTRL -10%, STX / LMNX -6%, LM / VSM -5%, GILD -3.5%, BZH / GOOG -3%
Nikkei -0.19% Hang Seng CSI Shanghai Shenzen Closed
Eur$ 1.1424 JPY 109.88 GBP 1.3030
S&P -0.09% EuroStoxx +0.32% FTSE +0.48% Dax +0.33%SMI +0.27%
Macro :
- Fed Says Powell Met Trump But Didn’t Discuss Policy Expectations
Keep an eye on :
- ALFA SS : Alfa Laval Sees Somewhat Higher Demand; 4Q Misses Estimates
- AML LN : Ferrari’s blueprint for Aston Martin - MergerMarket
- AMS SW : AMS Postpones HK Listing, Suspends Div., 1Q Forecast Misses
- AR4 GY : Aurelius to Sell Remaining Parts of U.K. Public-Sector Business
- AXFO SS :Axfood Fourth Quarter Operating Profit Meets Estimates
- CAV1V FH : Caverion Fourth Quarter Adjusted Ebitda Misses Lowest Estimate
- CAF SM : Bouygues’ Colas Unit Wins EU266m Tramway Contract in Liege
- DAI GY : Daimler Works Council Head Against Spinoff of Trucks Unit: HB
- DTE GY : T-Mobile Chief Legere Says Rates Won’t Go Up With Sprint Merger
- FGP LN : FirstGroup to Sell Manchester Bus Network: Telegraph
- HNR1 GY : Hannover Re Renewals Show FX-Adjusted Premium Growth of 15.4%
- IBE SM : Iberdrola, Repsol, Brookfield, Orix Bid for X-Elio: Expansion
- IFX GY : Infineon Sees FY 2019 Revenue Growth at Lower End of Range, *INFINEON SEES '19 GROWTH AT LOWER END OF RANGE, CUTS INVESTMENT
- LUN DC : Lundbeck FY Revenue Forecast 1.9% Below Est; Cuts Div. Policy
- MTRO LN : Metro Bank Hit by Fraud Attack: Reuters (Earlier)
- MLM IM : MolMed Says Germany to Reimburse Zalmoxis at EU130,000/Infusion
- MRW LN : Morrison to Be Big Winner of Sainsbury-Asda Disposals: Berenberg
- MTGB SS : MTG 4Q Adjusted Operating Profit Beats Highest Est.
- NOD NO : Nordic Semiconductor 4Q Ebit Loss Wider Than Est.
- NZYMB DC : Novozymes Reservations Left Behind as Berenberg Raises to Buy
- PWTN SW : DSV Likely Prepared to Wait, May Pull Back from Panalpina: RBC
- PNDORA DC : Pandora Sees Negative Organic Growth in 2019,
- PNDXB SS : Pandox CEO Says 2019 Will Be ‘a Good Year’: Dagens Industri
- ALPHA FP : Pharnext Gets FDA Fast Track Designation for Pleodrug PXT3003
- PRS NO : Prosafe Fourth Quarter Ebitda 4.3% Above Estimates
- RESUR SS : Resurs Holding 4Q Operating Income Misses Lowest Est.
- ROG SW : Genentech Submits Added FDA License Application for Kadcyla
- SAN FP : Sanofi Drug Hits Main Goal in Phase 3 Study of Multiple Myeloma
- SAN SM : Santander Announces Redemption of Certain Preferred Securities
- SAN SM : Santander, PAI Partners to Sell Konecta to Top Mgmt:Confidencial
- SEBA SS : SEB Expects ‘Stormy’ 2019; Sees More Attractive Valuations
- SLACK IPO : Messaging Platform Provider Slack Says It’s Filed to Go Public
- SW FP : Sodexo Says ICSID Arbitration Orders Hungary to Pay About EU73m
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia’s Brazil Unit Said to Recall Labriola as Director
- TIT IM : Tel. Italia Statutory Auditors Still Reviewing Vivendi Complaint
After Hours Summary: CTRL -10%, STX / LMNX -6%, LM / VSM -5%, GILD -3.5%, BZH / GOOG -3%After Hours Gainers:
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: AKTS +9.4%, HIG +2.3% (light volume), OLN +1.7%
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: APHA +3.6% and CRON +1.3% (continued strength), CDXS +0.8% (ticking higher; Codexis will install CodeEvolver protein engineering tech upgrades into Merck's (MRK) platform license installation and will maintain for a multi-year term; Financial terms of the agreement are undisclosed)
After Hours Losers:
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: HLIT -11.1%, GLUU -10.8%, CTRL -10%, RTEC -8%, PRA -7%, AEIS -6.2%, STX -6.1%, LMNX -5.9%, LM -5.2%, VSM -4.7%, GILD -3.5%, BZH -3.2%, GOOG -2.9%
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: OPK -13.6% (to offer $200 million aggregate principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes due 2025 ), DHX -4.7% (TCS has determined not to pursue a possible transaction involving the Company at this time), IVR -3.1% (announces public offering of 14 mln shares of its common stock; expects core EPS of $0.45-0.47 vs. $0.41 S&P Capital IQ Consensus), MCS -2% (announces commencement of registered public offering of 1.5 mln shares of common stock by selling shareholder), WDC -1.6% / MU -0.4% (following STX results), LGND -1.4% (invested in Dianomi Therapeutics)
>>> Up
* Cobham Upgraded to Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT 1.19 Pounds
* Essity Upgraded to Add at AlphaValue
* Morrison Upgraded to Buy at Berenberg
* Novozymes Upgraded to Buy at Berenberg
* Orpea Raised to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux; Price Target 115 Euros
* Sartorius Upgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 116 Euros
* Societe Fonciere Upgraded to Hold at SocGen; PT 60 Euros
* Wirecard Upgraded to Buy at LBBW; Price Target 169 Euros
>>> Down
* Anevia Cut to Neutral at Euroland Corporate; PT 2.20 Euros
* Arjo Downgraded to Accumulate at Handelsbanken; PT 33 Kronor
* Befimmo Downgraded to Sell at SocGen; PT 41 Euros
* *C&C CUT TO SELL VS HOLD AT BERENBERG
* Carlsberg Downgraded to Neutral at Oddo BHF; PT 816 Kroner
* Cofinimmo Downgraded to Sell at SocGen; PT 100 Euros
* Colonial Downgraded to Sell at SocGen; PT 8.30 Euros
* Eurocommercial GDRs Downgraded to Sell at SocGen; PT 26 Euros
* Fortum Downgraded to Reduce at HSBC; PT 18 Euros
* GenSight Biologics Downgraded to Neutral at Chardan; PT 2 Euros
* Immofinanz Downgraded to Sell at SocGen; PT 19 Euros
* KPN Downgraded to Hold at ING; PT 2.90 Euros
* Lundin Petroleum Downgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 285 Kronor
* Merlin Downgraded to Hold at SocGen; PT 11.30 Euros
* Roche Downgraded to Hold at DZ Bank; Price Target 270 Francs
* Segro Downgraded to Hold at SocGen; PT 7 Pounds
* Shurgard Self Storage Downgraded to Sell at SocGen; PT 25 Euros
* Sunrise Downgraded to Equal-weight at Barclays; PT 90 Francs
* Umicore Downgraded to Underweight at Barclays; PT 37 Euros
>>> Initiation
* Greencore Group Resumed at Jefferies With Buy; PT 2.45 Pounds
* GTT Rated New Outperform at MainFirst; PT 84 Euros
* Jungheinrich Rated New Buy at Pareto Securities; PT 30 Euros
* Kion Rated New Hold at Pareto Securities; PT 48 Euros
* Komax Rated New Reduce at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT 220 Francs
* Petrofac Rated New Neutral at MainFirst; PT 6.30 Pounds
* Sacyr Rated New Buy at Intermoney Valores; PT 3 Euros
* Saipem Rated New Outperform at MainFirst; PT 5.10 Euros
* Schoeller-Bleckmann Rated New Outperform at MainFirst
* Sika Rated New Underweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 120 Francs
* Tecnicas Reunidas Rated New Underperform at MainFirst
* TechnipFMC Rated New Outperform at MainFirst
>>> Call
* Pressures Mounting For U.K. Big Six Energy Utilities, MS Says
MergerMarket.com
Perhaps Ferrari’s numbers can provide some respite for luxury automotive peer Aston Martin [LON:AML] which has struggled since an October 2018 IPO.
Ferrari has performed impressively since listing. Initially split out of Fiat Chrysler [BIT:FCA] through a USD 52 per share IPO in 2015, followed by a subsequent spin-off to FCA shareholders, the stock now trades at USD 127 in New York and EUR 110 in Milan.
Over the three years since listing, Ferrari has increased vehicle shipments from 7,664 annually to 9,251 and increased EBITDA from EUR 719m to EUR 1.1bn. Net industrial debt, management’s preferred measure of borrowing, has fallen from EUR 797m to EUR 340m despite an aggressive share buyback programme.
All of these are features which, if repeated at Aston Martin, could help it recover from something of a false start since its October listing. Shares in Aston are around a third below its GBP 19 per share IPO price. And Aston is now trading at a fairly substantial discount to Ferrari. Aston’s EV/EBITDA multiple of 13.6x compares to Ferrari’s 19.0x. Ferrari’s higher multiple is justifiable given its operational track record over the last four years. Aston, however, has plenty of room to run on its own strategy and could generate meaningful shareholder value if it is able to deliver on its plans.
Vehicle shipments in the third quarter increased 99% to 1,776 and are up 22% to 4,075 in the first nine months of 2018. Aston plans to up its production to 14,000 in the near-term which would see it manufacturing more cars than Ferrari despite the latter’s enterprise value, currently, being six times higher at EUR 21.2bn.
Margins provide another potential avenue of improvement for Aston. Full-year EBITDA margins are expected to be in the region of 23%. That’s still 10 percentage points shy of Ferrari’s 33% indicating plenty of room for future profit growth.
Ferrari’s numbers, published on 31 January, showed luxury automotive manufacturers may be able to buck the trend in a tough market for more conventional peers. If Ferrari can do it, so too, perhaps, can Aston Martin.
Notable post-earnings/guidance movers
- Post-earnings/guidance gainers: STX +3.4%
- Post-earnings/guidance losers: HLIT -18.5%, CTRL -16.4%, GLUU -11.9%, RTEC -8.5%, AEIS -7.1%, VSM -6.9%, LMNX -4.8%, FN -4.4%, BZH -3.1%, GILD -2.9%, QTNA -2.7%, GOOG -2.4%
Closing Stock Market SummaryThe S&P 500 gained 0.7% on Monday with shares of mega-cap companies leading the advance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2%, and the Russell 2000 gained 1.0%.
A mega-cap rally characterized the day's trading action for most of the session with buying interest concentrated among a handful of names ahead of Alphabet's (GOOG 1132.80, +22.05, +2.0%) earnings report after the close. A last minute swarm of broad-based buyers, though, pushed most sectors to finish near their best levels of the day.
The S&P 500 information technology (+1.6%), industrials (+1.3%), and communication services (+1.0%) sectors outperformed the broader market.
Shares of widely-held companies like Apple (AAPL 171.25, +4.73, +2.8%), Microsoft (MSFT 105.74, +2.96, +2.9%), Facebook (FB 169.25, +3.54, +2.1%), and Netflix (NFLX 351.34, +11.49, +3.4%) all rose more than 2.0%.
Defense stocks increased, too, underpinning the strength in the industrials sector. The iShares Dow Jones US Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA 198.86, +4.06) gained 2.1%.
Some story stocks from Monday included Clorox (CLX 158.38, +8.52, +5.7%) and Sysco (SYY 66.64, +3.07, +4.8%), both of which beat earnings estimates. Also, Ultimate Software (ULTI 332.54, +54.71) surged 19.7% after the company received a cash buyout offer led by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman for $11 billion, or $331.50/share.
The health care (-0.3%) and materials (-0.2%) sectors underperformed the broader market and were the only sectors ending Monday with a loss.
U.S. Treasuries also finished the day with losses, pushing yields higher across the curve. The 2-yr yield and 10-yr yield increased three basis points each to 2.53% and 2.72%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.3% to 95.84. WTI crude lost 1.2% to $54.61/bbl.
Reviewing Monday's lone economic report, the Factory Orders report for November:
- Factory orders declined 0.6% in November (consensus +0.3%) on the heels of a 2.1% decline in October. Excluding transportation, orders were down 1.3% in November following a 0.2% increase in October.
- The key takeaway from the report is that it showed a drop in business investment in November, evidenced by the 0.6% decline in new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft. That raises the potential for a further decline in December since the November softness preceded the big market sell-off in December and the start of the partial government shutdown in January that were drags on business confidence.
Looking ahead, investors will receive the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for January on Tuesday.
- Russell 2000 +12.5% YTD
- Nasdaq Composite 10.7% YTD
- S&P 500 +8.7% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +8.2% YTD
Liam Neeson admits carrying weapon 'hoping to kill black person'
The Irish actor, 66, says he had violent thoughts about killing a black person after a female friend was raped.
Hollywood actor Liam Neeson has admitted for the first time that he used to have violent thoughts about killing a black person.
The Irish star said the thoughts were sparked after a female friend of his was raped.
Neeson said he used to be armed with a cosh weapon on the streets hoping someone "would have a go" at him "about something" so he could kill them.
The 66-year-old made his comments during an interview for his new film Cold Pursuit where he talked about how his character turns to anger.
Neeson told the Independent: "There's something primal - God forbid you've ever had a member of your family hurt under criminal conditions.
"I'll tell you a story. This is true."
He said the rape happened a while ago and he found out about it after coming back from a trip abroad.
"She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way.
"But my immediate reaction was... I asked, did she know who it was? No. What colour were they? She said it was a black person.
"I went up and down areas with a cosh, hoping I'd be approached by somebody - I'm ashamed to say that - and I did it for maybe a week, hoping some black b*****d would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him."
The Taken star, told the publication it took him over a week to process what had happened to his friend.
He continued: "It was horrible, horrible, when I think back, that I did that. And I've never admitted that, and I'm saying it to a journalist. God forbid.
"It's awful. But I did learn a lesson from it, when I eventually thought, 'What the f*** are you doing,' you know?"
Neeson, who was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, said he understands "that need for revenge" due to his Northern Ireland upbringing.
"But it just leads to more revenge, to more killing and more killing, and Northern Ireland's proof of that.
"All this stuff that's happening in the world, the violence, is proof of that, you know. But that primal need, I understand."
Representatives for Neeson and film studio Lionsgate have been contacted for comment.