European markets, stocks, data, news and earnings

Swedish real estate company SBB saw its shares rise 8% by mid-afternoon to lead the Stoxx 600 after presenting its pro forma earning capacity for 2023 following the divestment of shares of education unit EduCo.

At the bottom of the index, German kitchen appliance manufacturer Rational fell 7%.

– Elliot Smith

Ben Jones, director of macro research at Invesco, says Europe, however, has “a lot more bad news priced in there.”

Per Roman, co-founder and managing partner of GP Bullhound, discusses the outlook for the tech sector and says “the height of political risk is a real awakening for the technology industry.”

S&P Global’s final composite PMI (purchasing managers’ index) for the euro zone nudged up to 47.8 in November from a 21-month low of 47.3 in October, remaining below the 50 mark separating expansion from contraction.

“A fifth consecutive monthly falling output signalled by the PMI adds to the likelihood that the euro zone is sliding into recession,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

However, an easing in the rate of contraction means the region will likely only see GDP contract by 0.2%, Williamson projected.

– Elliot Smith

The U.K. services sector shrank for a second consecutive month in November as the country’s cost of living crisis continued to squeeze demand, S&P Global’s services PMI (purchasing managers’ index) reading said Monday.

The services sector PMI remained at 48.2, equaling October’s 21-month low and remaining below the 50 mark separating expansion from contraction.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global, said the PMIs indicate a growing recession risk in the U.K.

“A change of government and its new economic policies may have helped arrested some of the financial market volatility after September’s ‘mini-budget’ but the economic picture remains stubbornly unchanged,” Williamson said.

“The overall rate of economic contraction has held steady compared to October, indicative of GDP falling at a quarterly rate of 0.4%. As such, this is the toughest spell the U.K. economy has faced since the global financial crisis excluding only the height of the pandemic.”

– Elliot Smith

Shares of Grifols climbed more than 6% in early trade to lead the Stoxx 600 after Morgan Stanley upgraded the Spanish pharmaceutical company’s stock to “overweight” from “equal-weight.”

At the bottom of the index, German kitchen appliance manufacturer Rational fell more than 5%.

– Elliot Smith

Vodafone said on Monday its Chief Executive Nick Read would step down at the end of the year, with Chief Financial Officer Margherita Della Valle serving as interim replacement.

Read’s tenure has seen the British telecoms firm sell assets to focus on Europe and Africa and spin out its towers infrastructure unit, but he has failed to engineer the share price revival demanded by investors.

Shares of Vodafone were up 1.8% shortly after the market open.

Read more.

— Jenni Reid

Chinese technology, consumer and travel-related firms listed in Hong Kong saw sharp gains in early trade after some cities in China saw some easing in Covid restrictions.

Tech heavyweights Tencent gained 5.5% and Meituan rose 3.5%, while Alibaba jumped 4.72% and Xiaomi added 7.31%. EV stocks such as Li Auto jumped 9.19% and Nio climbed 11.5%.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed casino stocks also jumped, with MGM China rising 12.44%, Wynn Macau climbing 12.35% and Sands China adding 7.5%. Galaxy Entertainment rose 3.61% and SJM Holdings rose 4.82%.

Hotpot restaurant operator Haidilao soared 15%, and shares of airlines also popped. China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines each rose more than 5%, while Air China gained 4%.

The broader Hang Seng index was up 3.21%.

— Abigail Ng, Jihye Lee

Goldman Sachs sees one opportunity in electric vehicles that’s on an “upward trend.”

This trend will gain pace as EVs become “ever more technology driven” and simpler to build, said Goldman analysts in a Dec. 1 report.

That’s set to benefit one global stock, said Goldman, which gives the stock up to 90% upside in its bull case for the firm.

CNBC’s Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets are heading for a flat open on Monday as investors look ahead to more regional data.

The U.K.’s FTSE index is expected to open 4 points lower at 7,554, Germany’s DAX up 2 points at 14,531, France’s CAC down 2 points at 6,740 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 14 points at 24,671, according to data from IG.

Data releases include euro zone retail sales for October as well as final purchasing managers’ index data for November. There are no major earnings.

— Holly Ellyatt