(Nikkei) - Nissan sees 'no merit' in merger with Renault, says

Nissan sees 'no merit' in merger with Renault, says
CEO Saikawa
Automaker determined to maintain its independence from Paris

BEIJING -- Nissan Motor CEO Hiroto Saikawa brushed aside the idea of merging the Japanese automaker with its French partner Renault, emphasizing the importance of independence amid pressure from Paris.

The French government, a major shareholder in Renault, is reportedly pushing for a merger. But "I see no merit" in combining the whole companies, Saikawa said in an interview with Nikkei on Wednesday. "I think it would have side
effects." Saikawa is visiting Beijing for an international auto show. Nissan seeks to maintain the current three-way alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors while striving to make management more efficient, Saikawa said.

Renault owns a 43.4% stake in Nissan, which in turn holds 15% of its French ally and 34% of Mitsubishi. "Striking a balance through a shareholding relationship is necessary" in order to avoid raising concerns and creating power games, said Saikawa.

The French government is intent on bringing Nissan under its influence as a way to grow the country's auto industry. With Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn's term set to expire, Paris is seen as tying his reappointment at the June shareholders' meeting to its request that the automakers' relationship be made "irreversible."

"The point of the alliance is to keep its members independent and maximize the growth of each," Saikawa said, adding that this arrangement will "produce synergies in areas like development and production."

Ghosn told Nikkei last week that "all options are open" when rethinking the capital partnership. Saikawa, as Nissan's CEO, is more concerned with its independence than is Ghosn, who chairs all three automakers.

Ghosn's term as CEO of Renault lasts four years. Regardless of changes in leadership, Saikawa himself included, the alliance must create a condition acceptable to everyone, "where work can be done stably," the Nissan CEO said.

Still, Saikawa appeared reluctant to clash with the French side, instead focusing on finding a three-way framework that would promote sustainable growth. "We can't try to force Nissan's logic or Renault's," he said. "We have to respect the
French government's opinions as well."

>>> What to look at today - 26th of April 2018

Equities were mixed across Asia as gains in technology shares were offset by declines in financials. The dollar steadied close to its highest in three months, while Treasuries edged lower. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fluctuated, with Korean and Japanese shares rising and those in China and Hong Kong falling. Tech stocks rose alongside Nasdaq futures as positive earnings from technology heavyweights buoyed sentiment toward a sector that has been fragile of late. Samsung Electronics Co. topped estimates on booming exports of memory chips and better-than-expected sales at Facebook Inc. gave a boost to U.S. stock futures. The euro edged higher ahead of Thursday’s European Central Bank rate decision. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 3.03 percent. US after Hours  ORLY +12%, CMG / AMD +10%, FB +7%, V +2.8%, F +2.6% higher, while T -4.5%, EBAY -4% are lower following earnings/guidance

Nikkei +0.55% Hang Seng -1.12% CSI -1.69% Shanghai -1.16% Shenzen -1.44%

Eur$ 1.2181 CNH 6.3204 CNY 6.3230 JPY 109.34 GBP 1.3945 CHF 0.9825 RUB 62.17 WTI$ 68.28 +0.23%

S&P -0.08% Eurosrtoxx +0.03% FTSE +0.02% Dax -0.02% SMI +0.16%

Macro :
- Watch Autos; China Is Said to Mull Car Import Duty Reduction
- Draghi's Faith in Economy Tested in Slowdown: Decision Day Guide

Keep an eye on :
- AC FP : Accor Is Said to Be in Talks to Buy Movenpick Hotels: Figaro
- ADS GY : Skechers Loses Challenge to Adidas Patents on Springblade Shoes
- ADV GY : ADVA Optical Sees Second Quarter Revenue EU120 Mln To EU135 Mln
- AIR FP : *AIRBUS, BOMBARDIER ARE SAID TO EYE CSERIES DEAL BY END-MAY:RTRS
- AIXA GY : Aixtron First Quarter Revenue 3.7% Above Estimates
- ALT FP : Altran 1Q Rev. EU625.9m
- ATEA NO : Atea First Quarter Revenue Beats Highest Estimate
- BARC LN : Barclays Trading Shows Momentum for CEO Staley as Equities Surge
- BESI NA : BE Semiconductor Sees 1H Revenue Up Approximately 17% Y/y
- BME SM : BME First Quarter Net Income Beats Highest Estimate
- BOL FP : Billionaire Bollore Charged in French Bribery Investigation (2)
- BRG NO : Borregaard 1Q Operating Revenue Beats Highest Est.
- BUCN SW : Bucher First Quarter Sales CHF721 Mln
- BUFAB SS : Bufab First Quarter Operating Profit SEK104 Mln
- CA FP : Carrefour, Unions Agree on Layoff, Store-Closing Plans: Echos
- CFR SW : Richemont Names New CEOs for Baume, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai
- COB LN : Cobham Says Business in Line With Expectations in 1Q
- CRBN NA : Corbion First Quarter Organic Revenue +2.5%
- 1COV GY : Covestro First Quarter Sales Meet Estimates
- DANSKE DC : Danske Bank First Quarter Net Income Beats Highest Estimate
- DASNKE DC : Danske Says Investigations Into Estonia Branch ‘Progressing’
- DBK GY : Deutsche Bank First Quarter Net Revenue Misses Lowest Estimate -->-2.9% pre mkt
- DB1 GY : Deutsche Boerse Names SAP’s Christoph Boehm COO
- DHER GY : Delivery Hero Full Year Adjusted Ebitda Margin -17%
- DNB NO : DNB First Quarter Net Interest Income 4.2% Above Estimates
- DRW3 GY : Draeger Sees Full-Year Ebit More Likely at Lower End of Range
- DWS GY : DWS First Quarter Net Outflows EU7.80 Bln
- ENEL IM : Enel Gains Edge in Brazilian Takeover War With Offering Canceled, Eletropaulo: Enel Raised Bid to BRL32 per Share
- ENI IM : Eni’s Chief Operations Officer Casula Takes Leave Of Absence
- FCA IM : Fiat to Produce Electric 500 Model in Poland: Parkiet
- FIE GY : Fielmann First Quarter Sales Meet Estimates
- FORTUM FH : Fortum Raises Nordic Power Hedging Levels During First Quarter
- FUR NA : Fugro First Quarter Revenue EU350.4 Mln
- GLPG NA : Galapagos First Quarter Operating Loss Narrower Than Estimates
- GRNG SS : Granges First Quarter Net Sales Beat Highest Estimate
- GNV NA : GrandVision First Quarter Adjusted Ebitda EU136 Mln
- HYQ GY : Hypoport Now Sees 2018 EBIT EU28-33m; Had Seen EU26-31m
- ITP FP : Interparfums 1Q Rev. EU121.6M
- INTER NA : Intertrust First Quarter Underlying Revenue +2.6%
- IPN FP : Ipsen First Quarter Sales EU510.3 Mln, Inter Parfums Raises 2018 Forecasts
- JMT PL : J. Martins First Quarter Revenue Beats Highest Estimate
- KGX GY : Kion First Quarter Adjusted Ebit Misses Lowest Estimate
- KPN NA : KPN 1Q Adjusted Ebitda From Continuing Ops 1.5% Above Est.
- LHN SW : France Asked U.S. Not to Bomb Lafarge Syria Plant in 2014: Rtrs
- LHA GY : Lufthansa Earnings Rise on Early Easter, Collapse of Air Berlin
- NOKIA FH : Nokia First Quarter Net Sales 3.5% Below Estimates
- NOKIA FH : Nokia Raises 2018 Networks Market Outlook, Expects to Outperform
- NAS NO : Norwegian Air First Quarter Loss Narrower Than Estimates
- ORA FP : Orange Reaffirms 2018 Targets as 1Q Matches Estimates
- LIGHT NA : Philips Lighting First Quarter Revenue Misses Lowest Estimate
- RDSA NA : Shell First Quarter Adj. Profit 2.3% Above Estimates
- REA BB : GFI Informatique Launches Offer for Realdolmen
- RNO FP : Nissan CEO Sees ‘No Merit’ in Merger With Renault: Nikkei
- REZT SS : Rezidor Reports Unexpected First Quarter Profit
- ROG SW : Roche Raises 2018 Sales Growth Outlook to Low Single-Digit
- SAABB SS : Saab First Quarter Operating Profit Misses Estimates
- SAF FP : Safran CEO Sees Leap Engine Production Back on Schedule in 3Q
- SAB SM : Sabadell First Quarter Net Income Beats Highest Estimate
- SCHP SW : Schindler First Quarter Revenue Beats Highest Estimate
- SHOT SS : Scandic First Quarter Adjusted Ebitda Beats Highest Estimate
- SOP FP : Sopra Steria First Quarter Revenue +4.4%
- STL NO : Statoil Says First Johan Sverdrup Platform Installed on Field
- STMN SW : Straumann First Quarter Revenue CHF321.1 Mln
- SNBN SW : SNB Posts 1Q Loss of CHF6.8b on Foreign Currencies, Gold
- SUBC NO : Subsea 7 First Quarter Adjusted Ebitda Misses Lowest Estimate
- TTK GY : Takkt First Quarter Ebitda Misses Lowest Estimate
- TEG GY : TAG Immobilien First Quarter FFO EU35.1 Mln
- TDSA PL : Teixeira Duarte Signs Agreement to Lower Debt, Plans Asset Sales
- TEF SM : Telefonica First Quarter Oibda 1.0% Above Estimates
- O2D GY : Telefonica Deutschland Prepared for Mobile Frequency Awards: BZ
- TNET BB : Telenet First Quarter Adjusted Ebitda Misses Lowest Estimate
- TIE1V FH : Tieto 1Q Adjusted Operating Profit Beats Highest Est.
- VOS GY : Vossloh First Quarter Ebit EU1.6 Mln
- VOw3 GY : Canadian Courts Approve Settlement on VW Diesel Vehicles
- WCH GY : Wacker Chemie First Quarter Ebitda Meets Estimates
- WDI GY : Wirecard First Quarter Revenue 2.9% Above Estimates
- ZURN SW : Zurich Is Said to Join $2 Billion Wave of Malaysia Stake Sales

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 26th of April 2018

>>> Up
* Atos Upgraded to Buy at HSBC; Price Target 120 Euros
* Sunrise Upgraded to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 90 Francs
* Tarkett Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 32 Euros

>>> Down
* BW Offshore Cut to Hold at Arctic Securities; PT 45 Kroner
* OVS Downgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 3.70 Euros


>>> Initiation
* Deutz Rated New Hold at Berenberg; PT 9.20 Euros
* Energean Oil & Gas Rated New Outperform at RBC; PT 8 Pounds
* Siemens Healthineers Rated New Buy at Citi; PT 38.50 Euros
* Siemens Healthineers Rated New Buy at HSBC; PT 35.50 Euros
* Siemens Healthineers Rated New Neutral at Goldman; PT 32 Euros

>>> Call

>>> US After Hours Summary: ORLY +12%, CMG / AMD +10%, FB +7%, V +2.8%


After Hours Summary: ORLY +12%, CMG / AMD +10%, FB +7%, V +2.8%, F +2.6% higher, while T -4.5%, EBAY -4% are lower following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: ORLY +12%, UCTT +11.4%, PCMI +10.9%, CMG +10.2%, AMD +9.9%, FB +6.9%, ECHO +5.9%, (light volume), XLNX +5.6%, CTXS +4.6%, PYPL +4.2%, INTU +3.3% (reports 6% increase in turbotax online units: raises full-year consumer group guidance range), MTH +3.3%, RRC +3.2%, V +2.8%, F +2.6%, AXTI +2.5%, QCOM +1.6%, TRN +1.5% (ticking higher), LVS +1.3%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: AAP +6.7% and AZO +3.2% (following ORLY results),  (following AMD results), SNAP +2.1% (FB sympathy), TWTR +1.9% (boosted by FB and upgrade before the close to Buy from Neutral at UBS), KL +1.7% (light volume; reports drill intersections that provide 'significant' results at all three of its key exploration targets at Taylor mine), MA +1.6% (following Visa results),  (following AMD results), RESN +1.4% (light volume - continued strength), GM +0.8% (following Ford results)

Semi/tech names are lifting on the heels of upside earnings moves from several companies in the sectors (ETFs: SMH and SOXX +1.6%, QQQ +1.2%): CY +2.5%, NVDA +2.2%, INTC +2.1%, MSFT +1.6%, MU +1.3%, SWKS +0%, ADI +0%,

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: FARO -11.6%, BGG -11% (also approved $50 mln share repurchase program), LMAT -10.7% (light volume), NTGR -6.7%, UHS -5.8% (light volume), T -4.5%, EBAY -4.1%, NGD -4.4%, KEX -3%, ESV -2.5% (light volume), GG -1.9%, CYS -1.7%, BMRN -1.4% (light volume)

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: CRTO -1.6% (announces that founder and chairman JB Rudelle will return to the role of Chief Executive Officer)

>>> US Close Dow +0.25% S&P +0.18% Nasdaq -0.05% Russell -0.18%


Closing Market Summary: Wall Street Keeps Weekly Losses In Check

Stocks battled back following a rough start to Wednesday's session, keeping weekly losses in check. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished higher by 0.3%, ending a five-session skid, and the S&P 500 advanced 0.2%, but the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.1%, extend its losing streak to five sessions.

Initially, it looked as if Wednesday's session might be a continuation of Tuesday's sell off, as stock dropped sharply from their flat lines in the opening minutes. The market quickly found its footing, however, and started trending higher, eventually hitting positive territory in the afternoon. At lowest mark of the day, the S&P 500 was down 0.8% and, at its best, was up 0.4%.

A continued rise in Treasury yields didn't make things easy for the equity market. The benchmark 10-yr yield finally crossed the 3.0% mark after flirting with it over the last few sessions, finishing four basis points above its Tuesday close at 3.02% -- its highest close in more than four years. Meanwhile, the 2-yr yield climbed three basis points to 2.49% -- its highest close in nearly a decade.

Shares of Dow component Boeing (BA 342.86, +13.80) rallied 4.2% on Wednesday after the aerospace giant made a splash on the earnings front, easily beating top and bottom line estimates for the first quarter. Similarly, shares of chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN 103.00, +4.58), health insurer Anthem (ANTM 238.84, +13.84), and railroad giant Norfolk Southern (NSC 145.96, +10.99) added between 4.7% and 8.1% on better-than-expected Q1 results.

However, on the downside, Twitter (TWTR 29.75, -0.72) shares dropped 2.4% even though the company beat earnings and revenue estimates for the first quarter, and shares of Capitol One (COF 92.76, -4.66) tumbled 4.8% after the company's worse-than-expected Q1 revenues overshadowed its better-than-expected bottom line.

Most of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished Wednesday in positive territory, but gains were pretty limited; the energy and telecom services sectors added 0.8% apiece, but no other group advanced more than 0.5%. Three sectors finished in negative territory, including the top-weighted financials and information technology groups, which lost 0.1% apiece. 

Wednesday's economic data was limited to the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index, which showed a downtick of 0.2%. Tomorrow investors will receive Durable Goods Orders for March (consensus +1.9%), weekly Initial Claims (consensus 225K), Advance International Trade in Goods for March, and Advance Wholesale Inventories for March.

  • Nasdaq Composite: +1.5% YTD
  • Russell 2000: +1.0% YTD
  • S&P 500: -1.3% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: -2.6% YTD

>>> Advanced Micro beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs abo


Advanced Micro beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs above consensus (9.71   -0.38)

  • Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.11 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.09; revenues rose 39.8% year/year to $1.65 bln vs the $1.57 bln Capital IQ Consensus and 23 percent quarter-over-quarter, driven primarily by higher revenue in the Computing and Graphics segment. Computing and Graphics segment revenue was $1.12 billion, up 95 percent year-over-year and 23 percent quarter-over-quarter, primarily driven by strong sales of Radeon and Ryzen products.
  • Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $1.675-1.775 bln vs. $1.58 bln Capital IQ Consensus; adj. GM 37%.