By Swissquote Analysts
Airbus Says It Can’t Meet Current Demand for Single-Aisle Jets
Topic of the day
Airbus SE said it can’t ramp up production of its popular single-aisle jet fast enough to meet demand and forecasts delivery constraints for another three years as airlines clamor for new planes again. In a signal of the demand for new aircraft, Airbus reached a deal for 255 new narrow-body aircraft from a consortium of airlines backed by private-equity firm Indigo Partners, including Colorado-based Frontier Group Holdings Inc. and Hungary’s Wizz Air Holdings PLC. Airbus said earlier this month that it faced delivery shortfalls as it struggles with on-time delivery of components and quality lapses. The restart in production of Boeing Co. ’s 737 MAX after its recertification is also adding pressure to the aerospace supply chain. After two slow months of deliveries, the Chief Financial Officer Dominik Asam said he is still confident that Airbus will hit its target to deliver 600 aircraft this year. “We have a lot remaining to do for November and December, but you’ve seen in prior years that we were able to handle such orders of magnitude,” Mr. Asam said. “It will certainly be a run towards the finish like every year, but we are still sticking to that 600 aircraft delivery guidance for 2021.”
Swiss stocks
On Friday, the SMI gained 0.8 percent to 12,516 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 16 gainers and 4 losers. Turnover was 28.41 (Thursday: 28.22) million shares. After Sika (-0.9%) on Thursday, Richemont shares stood out on Friday with a price jump of 10.8 percent. The luxury products maker accelerated its sales growth in the first half of the fiscal year, beating analysts' expectations. Operating profit also beat expectations. Also contributing to the buying mood in the stock was Richemont's exit from Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP), an e-commerce platform that is not performing well. In the wake of Richemont, Swatch shares also rose strongly by 4.9 percent. Roche shares (-0.4%) showed no positive price reaction with news that Regeneron and Roche's monoclonal antibody cocktail have been approved in Europe for both treatment and prevention of Covid-19. The news should not have taken the market by surprise. Alcon fell again, albeit by only 0.4 percent, after the quarterly figures reported during the week had been rather disappointing.
International markets
Europe
European stocks rose to new highs Friday as investors put aside concerns about inflation and relied on strong third-quarter corporate earnings to extend the upward trend. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.3% to a new high of 486.8 points. For the week, the index increased by 0.7%. In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.5% while the SBF 120 gained 0.4%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 pocketed 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 in London gave up 0.5% in the wake of a new post-pandemic high. Renault was the biggest riser on the CAC 40, gaining 4.4%. Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation on the stock from "neutral weighting" to "overweight", while lifting its price target from 40 to 45 euros. Equipment manufacturers Valeo (+3.9%) and Faurecia (+3.9%) were also among the day's biggest risers. The IT services group Atos' share price fell by 2.4%, as the stock will be removed from the MSCI Global Standard indices. Stainless steel producer Aperam's stock lost 5.2% after it reported better-than-expected third-quarter results. Aperam's quarterly results are however "a little disappointing" compared to the performance of its competitors, according to JPMorgan Cazenove. AstraZeneca shares lost 2.6% in London, after the British pharmaceutical company announced a net loss for the third quarter, despite a jump in sales. Shares in Hapag-Lloyd rose Friday after the German shipping company posted a surge in profit and revenue for the third quarter as it benefited from higher freight rates. Profit soared to EUR2.83 billion from EUR250.9 million, while revenue jumped to EUR6.24 billion from EUR3 billion. JDE Peet's rose 3.5%. The Dutch coffee-and-tea supplier this week said it would borrow the equivalent of around $570 million to refinance existing debt.
United States
Major U.S. stock indexes rose Friday but finished the week with slim losses, snapping a five-week winning streak. The S&P 500 added 33.58 points, or 0.7%, to 4682.85 Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved higher 179.08 points, or 0.5%, to 36100.31. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 156.68 points, or 1%, to 15860.96. All three benchmarks closed near their highs for the day but ended the week with losses of less than 1%. The S&P fell 0.3% this week, interrupting a streak of gains that kicked off when U.S. companies began to report strong earnings in mid-October. The Dow and Nasdaq slipped 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively, for the week. Stocks retreated after data showed inflation rose to a three-decade high in October and broadened to an array of goods and services. Investors have been focused on whether worker shortages will keep pushing wages higher, which could feed back into inflation. Fresh data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy has had more than 10 million open jobs since June. The so-called quits rate was 3% in September, a record. Investors were focused on electric-vehicle makers in trading throughout the week, and there have been big swings in those companies. Lordstown Motors dropped $1.21, or 18%, to $5.68 Friday after the company reported a loss for the third quarter. Rivian Automotive, which went public this week, rose $6.96, or 5.7%, to $129.95. Rivian has jumped this week, soaring above the $78 initial offering price set Tuesday. Kyndryl lost 2.6% after opening higher. IBM's former IT infrastructure management division announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft (+1.3%). The two companies plan to develop joint solutions using Microsoft's cloud storage platform.
Asia
Asian stocks are mixed in morning trade on Monday. In Japan, the Nikkei index rises 0.4 percent to 29,741 points. In Tokyo Japan Post Bank gains 6.2 percent, driven by an increased outlook. In Hong Kong, Sunac China gives up 7.4 percent after the property developer announced capital increase plans. China Evergrande is nearly 3 percent weaker, while Country Garden is down almost 5 percent. Daily winner is the Seoul Stock Exchange (+1.0%). Biotech stock Celltrion jumps more than 9 percent after the EU Commission gives the green light to the company's Covid 19 antibody treatment. In Shanghai and Hong Kong, the markets close narrowly maintained.
Bonds
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 1.583% Friday, from 1.451% last week, the biggest one-week yield gain in around a month. The yield on the two-year Treasury note, which is typically more sensitive to expectations for monetary policy, rose to 0.522% this week and finished its largest one-week yield gain since October 2019.
Analysis
SMC lowers Klassik Radio target to EUR 7.50 (7.90) - Buy
Hauck&Aufhäuser cuts Demire goal to 5.60 (6.00) EUR - Buy
Stifel reduces objective va-Q-tec to EUR 46 (48) - Buy
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