21 09 EU PRE OPEN

INDICES
Friday, European stocks ended in the red. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.51%, Germany's DAX 30 dropped 0.36%, France's CAC 40 slid 0.69%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.47%.

EUROPE ADVANCE/DECLINE
64% of STOXX 600 constituents traded lower or unchanged Friday.
52% of the shares trade above their 20D MA vs 60% Thursday (above the 20D moving average).
58% of the shares trade above their 200D MA vs 59% Thursday (above the 20D moving average).

The Euro Stoxx 50 Volatility index added 0.1pt to 22.65, a new 52w high.

SECTORS vs STOXX 600
3mths relative high: Retail, Industrial
3mths relative low: Telecom., Banks, Energy

Europe Best 3 sectors
health care, technology, financial services

Europe worst 3 sectors
travel & leisure, banks, automobiles & parts


INTEREST RATE
The 10yr Bund yield fell 1bp to -0.49% (below its 20D MA). The 2yr-10yr yield spread fell 0bp to -21bps (above its 20D MA).


ECONOMIC DATA
FR 14:00: 12-Mth BTF auction, exp.: -0.57%
FR 14:00: 6-Mth BTF auction, exp.: -0.58%
FR 14:00: 3-Mth BTF auction, exp.: -0.57%


MORNING TRADING

In Asian trading hours, EUR/USD held gains at 1.1850 while GBP/USD eased to 1.2954. USD/JPY remains subdued at 104.83. This morning, official data showed that Japan's national CPI grew 0.2% on year in August (as expected).

Spot gold bounced to $1,952 an ounce.


#UK - IRELAND#
HSBC, a global banking group, may be listed in Chinese government's Unreliable Entity List, aimed at foreign entities that engage in actions that endanger the country's national sovereignty, according to Chinese media Global Times.

G4S, a security services provider, released a 8-month trading update: "Following a strong performance in the first half of 2020, the Group’s revenues have remained resilient through the first eight months of the year.  Secure Solutions revenues, which account for 93% of Group revenues, were broadly in line with 2019. Group revenues were just 1.9% lower overall (...) As a result, the Group's underlying earnings which were in line with 2019 at the six months stage are now ahead of the prior year for the first eight months of 2020."

JD Wetherspoon, a pub company, was upgraded to "equalweight" from "underweight" at Morgan Stanley.


#GERMANY#
Merck KGaA, a chemicals and pharmaceuticals company, was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Deutsche Bank.

From a chartist point of view, the share remains supported by a rising trend line drawn since March. Moreover the stock has closed above its previous all-time high at 125.6E. The RSI has validated an upward breakout above 65.5.  Above the support area at 117E look for 133.5E and 140.5E in extension.

Source: GAIN Capital, TradingView

#FRANCE#
Iliad, a telecommunication services provider, announced that it will launch a public tender offer for the Polish telecom operator, Play, for a cash amount of 39 Polish zloty per share, representing 2.2 billion euros for 100% of the share capital and an enterprise value of 3.5 billion euros. The company added that it has signed a binding agreement to purchase a 40% controlling interest from Play's two reference shareholders for the same unit price, which will give the company the majority of seats on Play's Board of Directors.

LVMH, a luxury goods conglomerate, confirmed that it has submitted the proposed acquisition of Tiffany for antitrust review. The company said: "Eight of the ten requisite antitrust clearances have already been obtained. LVMH expects to receive approval from the European Commission and Taiwan well before the November 24, 2020 Outside Date."


#SWITZERLAND#
Novartis, a pharmaceutical group, said a phase 3 trial of spartalizumab (PDR001) with Tafinlar and Mekinist in advanced melanoma did not meet the primary endpoint.


EX-DIVIDEND
ENI: E0.12, STMicroelectronics (STM): $0.042