>>> Abertis and Aena share trading suspended pending an announcement

Abertis and Aena share trading suspended pending an announcement
19 JUL 2017
Trading in shares of Aena [BME: AENA], the Spanish airports company, and Abertis [BME:ABE], the Spanish motorways group, has been suspended pending an announcement, the Spanish market regulator CNMV announced.
Press reports this morning said that Aena [BME: AENA] had considered a counter offer for Abertis [BME:ABE], the Spanish motorways target of a EUR 16.5 per share bid from Atlantia [BIT:ATL]. Atlantia’s bid values Abertis at EUR 16.3bn.

>>> Akzo Nobel names Thierry Vanlancker as new CEO

Akzo Nobel names Thierry Vanlancker as new CEO
19 JUL 2017
Akzo Nobel [AMS:AKZA] announces that Chief Executive Ton Büchner steps down with immediate effect due to health reasons. The company has announced Thierry Vanlancker as the new CEO.
Ton joined AkzoNobel in 2012 and has been responsible for significantly improving the performance of the company, increasing profitability and cash flow to record levels.
He put in place a solid operational and financial foundation, which enabled the company to recently announce the creation of two focused high performing businesses; Paints and Coatings and Specialty Chemicals.
Thierry was most recently head of Specialty Chemicals at AkzoNobel, having joined the company in 2016. A Belgian national, prior to joining AkzoNobel he was President - Fluoroproducts for Chemours, the spin-off company of DuPont's chemical businesses formed in 2015.
Antony Burgmans, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, commented:
"It is with great regret that Ton is stepping down due to health reasons. He has been an outstanding leader for AkzoNobel, transforming the company and setting it up for future success. His focus on delivering for our customers and operational excellence has driven profitability to record levels, increasing returns to shareholders.
''His passion for the business and personal commitment has helped create a strong culture across the company. He will be greatly missed in the Boardroom and by many colleagues of AkzoNobel around the world. I wish Ton well and hope he is now able to focus fully on his own health.
''AkzoNobel remains focused on delivering for our customers every day. In Thierry Vanlancker we have an outstanding executive who is well placed to continue building momentum for the company. This includes the creation of two focused businesses, delivering sustainable growth and profitability.
''His extensive experience in the chemicals and coatings industry gives him a unique perspective and I look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role as CEO."
Ton Büchner, commented:
"It was a privilege to work for AkzoNobel and I am extremely proud of all the achievements the team delivered during my five years at the company. AkzoNobel is full of highly engaged, talented and passionate people who deliver every day for our customers and I want to thank all of them for their contribution and support over the years.
''Our commitment to value creation, sustainability, innovation and the communities in which we operate is a major driver of our success.
"Thierry Vanlancker is a great addition to the team and is well placed to take AkzoNobel forward, delivering long term value creation for all stakeholders. I wish Thierry all the best.
"For me this was an extraordinarily difficult decision to make but my focus must now be on my health."
Thierry joined DuPont in 1988 and held a number of senior positions both in Europe and the US, including Vice-President Performance Coatings and Business Manager of Refinish Systems across Europe, Middle East and Africa.
A successor for the Head of Specialty Chemicals will be announced in due course

>>> What to look at today - 20th of July 2017

Dow -0.25% S&P +0.06% Nasdaq +0.47% Russell -0.28%
US Market Closed mixed with tech outperforming. Only five of the S&P 500's eleven sectors settled in positive territory, but, luckily for the broader market, one of those groups was the top-weighted technology space (+0.5%).  For the year, the tech space trades comfortably ahead of its peers with a year-to-date gain of 22.1%. For comparison, the S&P 500 holds a year-to-date gain of 9.9% and the health care sector, which hovers in second place on the 2017 leaderboard, is up 15.9% on the year. Like financials, the energy sector (-0.5%) also had a rough showing, despite a positive performance from crude oil, which climbed 0.8% to $46.40/bbl. The commodity benefited from reports that Saudi Arabia is considering a reduction in its crude exports, in addition to a weakening U.S. Dollar; the U.S. Dollar Index (94.42, -0.50) dropped 0.5% to settle at an 11-month low. As for the remaining laggards, the telecom services group (-1.0%) was the weakest performer while the industrials (-0.3%), materials (-0.4%), and real estate (-0.1%) spaces settled with more moderate losses. US after hours  EXPO +12%, CSX -4%, UAL / IBM -3% following earnings/guidance, SNI +15% and DISCA +8% on potential deal talks. Asia markets are mixed, but mostly to the upside; with a quiet day of trade with little economic catalysts ahead of Bank of Japan (BOJ) policy decision tomorrow. BOJ is expected to cut inflation forecast and raise GDP forecast. PBOC again injected through reverse repos, the 3rd consecutive injection over CNY100B and set the yuan reference rate at 6.7451, the strongest setting since October 2016. Takata Corp,7312.JP Said that victims' lawyers calling it unjust to halt US air bag cases against carmakers – press; -48%

Nikkei +0.16^Hang Seng +0.41% CSI +1.07% Shanghai +0.89% Shnezen +0.81%

Eur$ 1.1533 CNH 6.7549 CNY 6.7584 JPY 112.12 GBP 1.3044 CHF 0.9561 RUB 59.1331 WTI $46.18 -0.47%

S&P +0.07% EuroStoxx +0.32% FTSE +0.30% Dax +0.16% SMI +0.51%

Macro :
- Mnuchin Says U.S. Wants to Level Playing Field on China Trade
- EU May Levy up to 33% Duty on Some Hot-Roll Steel Imports: Rtrs
- Goldman Says MiFID II May Be Broader Than U.S. Post-Crisis Rules

Keep an eye on :
- ABE SM : Aena Considered Making A Bid for Abertis: Expansion
- AKZA NA : Akzo Nobel CEO Ton Buechner Steps Down With Immediate Effect
- ATC NA : Altice Says Claudia Goya Joins as CEO of Portugal Telecom
- AAPL US : Samsung May Produce Chips for New Apple Iphone: Maeil (July 18)
- T US : AT&T Is Said to Be in Talks to Buy Otter Media: New York Post
- MT NA : EU May Levy up to 33% Duty on Some Hot-Roll Steel Imports: Rtrs
- AHSL SS : Ahlsell Second Quarter Net Sales Beat Highest Estimate
- ASML NA : ASML Sees 3Q Net Sales of About EU2.2 Billion, Gross Margin 43%
- BBVA SM : BBVA Frances Falls to 2015 Low Ahead of Follow-On Share Sale
- BETSB SS : Betsson Daily Revenue in Start of 3Q Higher as Expected
- BLT LN : BHP Sees FY18 Iron Ore Output Up 3%-5%; FY17 at Bottom End
- CA FP : Carrefour Brazil Unit Prices Shares at BRL15 in BRL5.1b IPO
- DAI GY : Daimler Announces Voluntary Recall for 3 Mln Diesels in Europe
- DTE GY : Deutsche Telekom Names Woessner New Head of German Business
- EDF FP : EDF Reports Incident With Valve at Halted Flamanville Reactor 2
- EDF FP : France Must Set Realistic Target for Power Mix, Minister Says
- EDPR PL : EDP Renovaveis Says It Gets $370m Equity Financing in the U.S.
- FI/N SW : Georg Fischer 1H Sales Increase; Sees FY Growth Above Target
- GFC FP : Gecina Holder Ivanhoe Cambridge to Sell ~12.7m Rights
- GS US : Goldman-Backed Renew Is Said to Eye Orange Assets for $950M: ET
- DEC FP : JCDecaux Renews Brussels Airport Advertising Concession
- LGYZ SW : Landis+Gyr IPO Range Is Said to Narrow to 78-82 Francs/Shr:Rtrs
- NETS DC : Nets to Return Cash to Owners If No M&A Targets Found: Borsen
- RB/ LN : McCormick to Buy Reckitt Benckiser’s Food Division for $4.2b
- SAZ GY : Bain, Cinven Publish Stada Offer, Acceptance Starts Today
- SWEDA SS : Swedbank Says New Robur Equity Fund Attracts SK800 Million
- TEL2B SS : Tele2 Sees Full Year Ebitda SEK6.20 Bln To SEK6.50 Bln
- TKA AV : Telekom Austria Second Quarter Ebitda EU359.3 Mln
- TOM NO : Tomra Second Quarter Revenue Misses Estimates
- TOM2 NA : TomTom Sees Full Year Revenue Low End Of EU925 Mln To EU950 Mln
- UBI FP : Ubisoft Says 1Q Sales Beat Target, Confirms FY Forecasts, Ubisoft Says It’s Been Conservative on Next Assassin’s Creed
- VOLVB SS : Volvo Sees FY North America H/D Truck Market 225,000 Units

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 20th of July 2017

>>> Up
*Beiersdorf Raised to Neutral at UBS, PT EU93
*Brenntag Raised to Hold at Commerzbank, PT EU52
*DNB Raised to Reduce at AlphaValue
*Lonza Raised to Buy at Jefferies, PT CHF275
*Schibsted Raised to Buy at ABG, PT NOK231
*Sinopec Shanghai H Shares Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan

>>> Down
*Biotest Cut to Neutral at MainFirst, PT EU21
*Drax Cut to Neutral at Citi
*ERG Cut to Neutral at MedioBanca, PT EU12.50
*Hunting Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley
*Rational Cut to Hold at HSBC, PT EU533
*Salzgitter Cut to Neutral at Goldman, PT EU41
*Stada Cut to Neutral at MainFirst, PT EU66.25
*Weir Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley
*Wirecard Cut to Hold at Bankhaus Lampe

>>> Initiation
*AA New Overweight at Barclays, PT GBP2.80
*Altice USA New Outperform at Exane, PT $36
*BCE New Hold at Argus
*Hollywood Bowl Group New Buy at Berenberg, PT 210p
*Hotel Chocolat New Hold at Berenberg, PT 330p
*Metro Wholesale & Food Specialist New Overweight at Barclays
*Osram New Buy at Berenberg, PT EU87
*Patisserie Holdings New Buy at Berenberg, PT 400p
*Philips Lighting New Buy at Berenberg, PT EU40
*TEN Entertainment Group New Buy at Berenberg, PT 240p
*Zumtobel New Hold at Berenberg, PT EU19

>>> US After Hours Summary: EXPO +12%, CSX -4%, UAL / IBM -3% foll

After Hours Summary: EXPO +12%, CSX -4%, UAL / IBM -3% following earnings/guidance, SNI +15% and DISCA +8% on potential deal talks

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: EXPO +11.8%, WTFC +1.5%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: AEZS +45.1% (FDA granted NDA for Macrilen for the evaluation of growth hormone deficiency in adults December 30, 2017 PDUFA date), VRTX +25.2% (announces 'positive' Phase 1 & Phase 2 data from three different triple combination regimens in people with cystic fibrosis who have one F508del mutation and one minimal function mutation), PED +21.6% (provided transaction update; asset due diligence completed, successfully definitive documents now being drafted and anticipates closing by August 31, 2017), SNI +14.7% and DISCA +7.9% (WSJ reporting that Discovery Communications and Scripps are exploring M&A deal), OPGN +12.6% (CFO and CEO disclose purchases likely made under July 13 offering priced at $0.40/share), JONE +3.6% (reports Q2 production exceeding high end of guidance; schedules call to discuss mid-year updates tomorrow), WKHS +2.2% (after seeing notable move higher Tuesday afternoon), ANF +1.5% (SLS Management sends letter to the Board outlining actionable steps for it to undertake to maximize value for the shareholders), CELG +0.5% and AMGN +0.4% (still checking may be attributed to VRTX news)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: CSX -3.9%, UAL -3.4%, IBM -2.7%, IBKR -1.1%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: DRYS -28% (to effect a 1-for-7 reverse stock split of the Company's issued common shares), OHGI -11.4% (discloses entry into securities purchase agreement with two investors), INO -8.3% (to offer $75.0 mln of shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering), HDP -8% (announces Pres/COO departure and other mgmt changes; expects Q2 total GAAP revs of $58-59 mln vs $57.2 mln consensus), MMYT -4.6% (ticking lower; files for 15,357,028 ordinary share offering by shareholders), SPEX -4.5% (after filing another amended S-1 with offering of approx 1.18 mln shares of common stock), GLPG -3.2% (ticking lower; attributed to VRTX news), UNP -0.9% (CSX sympathy), WY -0.5% (ticking lower; is implementing solution to address TJI Joists with Flak Jacket Protection product concerns; expecting before-tax costs of $50-60 mln)

United Continental (UAL) earnings/guidance weighing on airline names: SAVE -2.9%, AAL -1.5%, DAL -1.3% (ALSO VP/Chief Acctg Officer sold 5K shares), LUV -0.9%, JBLU -0.7%, ALK -0.5%


>>> Asian Update

Asia Mid-Session Market Update: Markets quiet ahead of BOJ tomorrow, Aussie banks rise amid stronger capital requirements

***Asia Summary***
- Asia markets are mixed, but mostly to the upside; with a quiet day of trade with little economic catalysts ahead of Bank of Japan (BOJ) policy decision tomorrow. BOJ is expected to cut inflation forecast and raise GDP forecast. Australia APRA announced stronger capital requirements by 2020, though all of the major banks assured the markets they would easily meet the requirements. Their shares rose, giving the ASX a boost. BHP released its production results, which failed to impress, much like Rio yesterday. This put some pressure on the smaller miners.
- PBOC again injected through reverse repos, the 3rd consecutive injection over CNY100B and set the yuan reference rate at 6.7451, the strongest setting since October 2016. AUD/USD continued to be buoyed off yesterday’s more hawkish meeting minutes testing 0.7936.

***Key economic data***
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA JUN PPI M/M: -0.4% V -0.2% PRIOR; Y/Y: 2.8% V 3.4% PRIOR
- (AU) AUSTRALIA JUN WESTPAC LEADING INDEX M/M: -0.1% V 0.0% PRIOR
- (MY) Malaysia Jun CPI Y/Y: 3.6% v 3.9%e

***Speakers and Press***
China
- (CN) China Economic Information Daily Op Ed: Massive outflows of forex reserves to pay for irrational overseas mergers could have an impact on China's forex management system, could affect the stability of the yuan exchange rate
- (CN) China can now censor images in one-on-one chats in real time and delete them before the receive can see them - financial press
Australia/New Zealand
- (AU) Australia APRA announces "unquestionably strong" capital benchmarks; main banks need CET1 ratios of at least 10.5% by 2020
Korea
- (KR) US Commerce Dept said to be probing some fiber imports from Korea and Taiwan; to announce preliminary injury ruling by Aug 11th - press
Japan
- (JP) Renewed speculation that BOJ could cut its inflation forecast in its upcoming outlook report - financial press
- (JP) Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Suga: Strong economic growth more important than a temporary deficit cut; reiterates govt view that strive for primary balance surplus in FY20/21
Other
- (MX) S&P revises Mexico sovereign outlook to stable from negative; Affirms BBB+ rating

***Asian Equity Indices/Futures (00:30ET)***
- Nikkei +0.1%, Hang Seng +0.5%, Shanghai Composite +0.8%, ASX200 +0.6%, Kospi -0.2%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.1%; Nasdaq +0.3%, Dax +0.1%, FTSE100 +0.1%

***FX ranges/Commodities/Fixed Income (00:30ET)***
- EUR 1.1555-1.1536; JPY 112.14-111.88; AUD 0.7936-0.7909; NZD 0.7357-0.7341
- Aug Gold -0.1% at 1,240/oz; Aug Crude Oil -0.3% at $46.28/brl; Sept Copper -0.1% at $2.72/lb
- (AU) Australia Finance Ministry (AOFM) sells A$900M in 2.75% 2028 bonds; avg yield 2.7747% v 2.5124% prior; bid-to-cover 2.82x v 2.69x prior
- (CN) China PBoC OMO: injects CNY140B in 7 and 14 day reverse repos v CNY200B prior (3rd consecutive injection over CNY100B)
- USD/CNY (CN) PBOC SETS YUAN REFERENCE RATE AT 6.7451 V 6.7611 PRIOR (strongest setting since Oct 2016)
- (KR) Bank of Korea (BOK) sells KRW2.3T in 2-yr monetary stabilization bonds; avg yield 1.66% v 1.67% prior
- JGB (JP) Japan to sell ¥0.3T in enhanced liquidity auction
- (CN) China MOFCOM sells 7-yr bonds; avg yield 3.6056%; bid-to-cover 3.76x

***Equities notable movers***
Australia
-BHP,BHP.AU Reports Q4 iron ore production 60.0Mt v 61.5Mte v 54.0Mt q/q; -1.5%
- Wellard Limited,WLD.AU Guides FY17 pretax loss A$65M to loss A$55M, ex-impairments on vessels; -31%
Hong Kong/China
- China Shipping Development,1138.HK Guides H1 Net CNY800-900M; -57% to -51% y/y; -3.8%
Japan
- Takata Corp,7312.JP Said that victims' lawyers calling it unjust to halt US air bag cases against carmakers – press; -23%
***US markets on close: Dow -0.04%, S&P500 0.0%, Nasdaq +0.03%, Russell +0.2% ***
- Best Sector in S&P500: Information Technology
- Worst Sector in S&P500: Telecom
- Biggest gainers: NFLX +13.5%; WYNN +2.9%; PLD +2.7%
- Biggest losers: VNO -20%; HOG -5.9%; CMG -4.3%
- At the close: VIX 9.89 (+0.0.7pts); Treasuries: 2-yr 1.35% (-0.6%), 10-yr 2.26% (-2.1%), 30-yr 2.85% (-1.5%)

***US Market Summary***
- Stock were mixed today, focus was on the administration's failure to move forward with healthcare legislation and what that means for potential economic policy reforms. Treasuries were investors' favorites again, and they found more value in medium to long term notes. 10-year yield lost 5.5 bps, dropping to 2.26% , while 30-year bonds lost 6 bps in yield reaching 2.85%. 2s10s spread flattened by 4.5 bps, decreasing to 91 bps, and 10s30s spread remained steady at 59

***US Afterhours Movers***
- SNI Discovery Communications said to be in combination talks with Scripps Networks - US financial press; +14.7% afterhours

- MKC, RB.UK McCormick confirms to Acquire Reckitt Benckiser's Food Division for $4.2B (over $4.0B was speculated); +0.2% afterhours
-VRTX Announces positive Phase 1, Phase 2 data from three different Triple combination regimens in people with Cystic Fibrosis who have one F508del mutation and one Minimal Function Mutation (F508del/Min); +24.6% afterhours
-UAL Reports Q2 $2.75 v $2.65e, Rev $10.0B v $9.96Be; Guides Q3 PRASM -1% to +1%- Guides Q3 CASM 2.0-3.0%, capacity ~4.0%; -3.6% afterhours

>>> US Close Dow -0.25% S&P +0.06% Nasdaq +0.47% Russell -0.28%

Closing Market Summary: Nasdaq Advances to New All-Time High

For the first time since June 8, the tech-heavy Nasdaq (+0.5%) advanced to a new record high on Tuesday as tech stocks continued their bullish run. The S&P 500 (+0.1%) also finished at a new record high while the Dow and the small-cap Russell 2000 underperformed, dropping 0.3% apiece. The three major averages settled the session at their best marks of the day.

Only five of the S&P 500's eleven sectors settled in positive territory, but, luckily for the broader market, one of those groups was the top-weighted technology space (+0.5%). Mega-cap names like Facebook (FB 162.86, +3.13) and Alphabet (GOOGL 986.95, +10.99) paced the sector's advance, adding 2.0% and 1.1%, respectively, with FB notching a new all-time high. 

Today's win marks the eighth in a row for the technology sector, which has fully recovered from last month's swoon. For the year, the tech space trades comfortably ahead of its peers with a year-to-date gain of 22.1%. For comparison, the S&P 500 holds a year-to-date gain of 9.9% and the health care sector, which hovers in second place on the 2017 leaderboard, is up 15.9% on the year.

Meanwhile, the consumer discretionary sector (+0.4%) also put together a relatively solid performance, leaning on Amazon (AMZN 1024.38, +14.34) to overcome losses from most components. AMZN shares advanced 1.4% to a new all-time high. The lightly-weighted utilities group (+0.3%) was the only other sector to settle ahead of the broader market. 

The influential health care group (+0.1%) eked out a narrow victory, thanks in part to the solid performances of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 134.46, +2.31) and UnitedHealth (UNH 186.85, +0.50). The two companies advanced 1.8% and 0.3%, respectively, after reporting better than expected earnings and issuing upbeat guidance.

On a related note, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell decided to pave a new direction for the upper chamber on Monday evening, trimming aspirations to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act in favor of a straight repeal with no immediate replacement. However, three centrist-Republican Senators publicly opposed the idea on Tuesday, sending Republican leaders back to the drawing board.

Back on Wall Street, earnings played a role in the heavily-weighted financial sector's underperformance as Goldman Sachs (GS 223.31, -5.95) and Bank of America (BAC 23.90, -0.12) beat earnings and revenue estimates, but failed to live up to the bullish five-week run that financials enjoyed ahead of earnings season. The financial sector ended the day lower by 0.3%.

Like financials, the energy sector (-0.5%) also had a rough showing, despite a positive performance from crude oil, which climbed 0.8% to $46.40/bbl. The commodity benefited from reports that Saudi Arabia is considering a reduction in its crude exports, in addition to a weakening U.S. Dollar; the U.S. Dollar Index (94.42, -0.50) dropped 0.5% to settle at an 11-month low.

As for the remaining laggards, the telecom services group (-1.0%) was the weakest performer while the industrials (-0.3%), materials (-0.4%), and real estate (-0.1%) spaces settled with more moderate losses.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data, which included June Export/Import Prices and the July NAHB Housing Market Index:

  • Import prices excluding oil rose 0.1% in June after finishing flat in May. Export prices excluding agriculture were unchanged in June (0.0%) after declining 0.4% in May (from -0.6%).
    • The key takeaway from the report is that it doesn't change the market's understanding -- or the Fed's -- that inflation readings remain low.
  • The NAHB Housing Market Index for July declined to 64 (consensus 67) from a revised reading of 66 in June (from 67).

On Wednesday, investors will receive the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index and June Housing Starts (consensus 1160K) at 7:00 ET and 8:30 ET, respectively.

  • Nasdaq Composite +17.9% YTD
  • S&P 500 +9.9% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +9.2% YTD
  • Russell 2000 +5.2% YTD