Liveblog Archief donderdag 22 april 2021

TOP NEWS
• U.S. pledges to halve its emissions by 2030 in renewed climate fight
The Biden administration pledged to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels by 2030, a new target it hopes will spur other big emitter countries to raise their ambition to combat climate change.

• AT&T beats revenue, wireless subscribers estimates
AT&T's wireless subscriber additions more than doubled first-quarter estimates, as the reopening of the U.S. economy after months of pandemic-led restrictions boosted its smartphone sales and media business, pushing revenue past Street targets.

• Valero kicks off U.S. refiners' earnings with wider loss on storm impact
Valero said its loss widened in the first quarter from the previous three months as a severe winter storm in Texas in February impacted the U.S. refiner's operations.

• Credit Suisse to boost capital ahead of further Archegos hit
Credit Suisse will raise over $2 billion to strengthen its capital base after flagging a further hit from the collapse of U.S. investment fund Archegos and a shrinking of the prime brokerage unit responsible for the multi-billion dollar debacle.

• Southwest expects lower cash burn as vaccines drive leisure travel rebound
Southwest Airlines posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly adjusted loss and forecast lower cash burn in the second quarter as rising vaccination rates and pent-up demand for leisure travel signal an "optimistic summer".


BEFORE THE BELL
U.S. stock index futures were subdued as investors awaited the weekly jobless claims numbers. European equities moved towards record highs, as strong company earnings brightened sentiment ahead of the ECB's policy decision. Asian shares ended mostly higher. The dollar fell as fading gains in U.S. Treasury yields reduced the greenback's interest rate advantage. Oil extended their losses following a surprise build-up in U.S. crude inventories. Gold prices were in the red. Intel and Mattel are expected to report results after the closing bell.


STOCKS TO WATCH

Results
• AT&T Inc: The company's wireless subscriber additions more than doubled first-quarter estimates, as the reopening of the U.S. economy after months of pandemic-led restrictions boosted its smartphone sales and media business, pushing revenue past Street targets. The company said it added 595,000 net wireless phone subscribers in the quarter, compared with estimates of 268,800, according to research firm FactSet. AT&T's WarnerMedia added 2.7 million HBO Max and HBO subscribers in the quarter as viewers flocked to Netflix's rival that began making its entire box office slate available on streaming service the same day the movies hit theaters. Revenue for the company was up nearly 3% at $43.9 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $42.69 billion.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc: The company on Wednesday said its comparable sales this quarter could grow by as much as 30% as rapid COVID-19 vaccinations encourage consumers to return to its restaurants that offer quick service in a casual dining space. The burrito chain reported comparable sales rose 17.2% in the first quarter, helped by new menu items like quesadillas and consumers' using federal pandemic relief funds to order tacos and salads online. Digital sales surged nearly 134% in the first quarter and accounted for half of overall sales, the company said on Wednesday. Revenue rose 23.4% to $1.74 billion, matching analyst estimates.

• Credit Suisse Group AG: The bank will raise over $2 billion to strengthen its capital base after flagging a further hit from the collapse of U.S. investment fund Archegos and a shrinking of the prime brokerage unit responsible for the multi-billion dollar debacle. Credit Suisse said it expects a hit of about 600 million Swiss francs for the April-June quarter after exiting most of its Archegos-related positions. A 4.4 billion hit in January-March wiped out what would have been a stellar trading period, leaving it with a slightly smaller-than-flagged pre-tax loss of 757 million francs.

• Dow Inc: The company reported a 69% rise in first-quarter profit, as prices for its chemicals used in plastics and packaging rose on the back of tighter supply and high demand. The company posted net operating income, which excludes certain items, of $1.02 billion, or $1.36 per share, in the three months ended March 31, compared with a profit of $607 million, or 81 cents per share, in the fourth quarter.

• D.R. Horton Inc: The company raised its full-year outlook for home deliveries and reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, as strong housing demand and low mortgage rates boosted the top U.S. homebuilder's sales. D.R. Horton said it now expects full-year home deliveries between 82,500 and 84,500, up from 80,000 to 82,000 forecast previously. Net income attributable to the company rose to $929.5 million, or $2.53 per share, in the second quarter ended March 31, from $482.7 million, or $1.30 per share, a year earlier.

• Kinder Morgan Inc: The company on Wednesday posted a quarterly profit that breezed past estimates, helping the U.S. pipeline operator raise its annual earnings forecast, on a demand surge for natural gas and electricity during the February winter storm. The first-quarter performance helped Kinder Morgan raise its full-year net income forecast to as much as $2.9 billion, from a $2.1 billion expectation outlined at the end of the fourth quarter. Excluding items, the company earned 60 cents per share, well above estimates of 24 cents, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

• SAP SE: The Software group said its new all-in cloud package was proving to be a hit with its customers, as it confirmed its first-quarter results and recently raised guidance. SAP confirmed its guidance after earlier this month nudging up expectations for cloud and software revenue to 23.4-23.8 billion euros this year, representing a rise of 1%-2% year on year. As already reported, total revenue including SAP's traditional mainstays of license sales and service revenues, rose by 2% in the first quarter at constant currency to 6.35 billion euros.

• Southwest Airlines Co: The company posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly adjusted loss and forecast lower cash burn in the second quarter as rising vaccination rates and pent-up demand for leisure travel signal an "optimistic summer". Second-quarter average core cash burn is expected to be between $2 million and $4 million per day, Southwest said, compared with about $13 million per day in the previous three months. Excluding items, the Dallas-based company reported a net loss of $1.02 billion, or $1.72 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a net loss of $77 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier.

• Valero Energy Corp: The company said its loss widened in the first quarter from the previous three months as a severe winter storm in Texas in February impacted the U.S. refiner's operations. Valero said refining throughput, or the amount of crude it processed, fell nearly 8% sequentially to 2.4 million barrels per day. Net loss attributable to its stockholders was $704 million, or $1.73 per share, for the three months ended March 31, compared with a loss of $359 million, or 88 cents per share, in the prior quarter.

In Other News
• Apple Inc: The company is planning to expand its advertising business by adding a second advertising slot in its App Store search page's "suggested" section, the Financial Times reported. The new advertising slot, which will be rolled out by the end of the month, will allow advertisers to promote their apps across the whole network, rather than in response to specific searches, according to the report.

• AstraZeneca PLC: The European Commission is working on legal proceedings against AstraZeneca after the drugmaker cut COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the European Union, sources familiar with the matter said. The news about the legal case was first reported by Politico. An EU official involved in talks with drugmakers confirmed authorities in Brussels were preparing to sue the company.

• Blucora Inc: The company's shareholders voted to re-elect the financial services firm's 10 current board members, rejecting dissident investor Ancora Holdings' proposal to seat four newcomers, the company said on Wednesday. Blucora had told shareholders, which include large index funds and hedge funds, that its directors were better qualified to lead the company and that a number of recently made changes were beginning to bear fruit.

• Carlyle Group Inc: Caryle' AlpInvest Partners said it had raised $3.5 billion for its eighth fund that is dedicated to investing in companies alongside private equity firms. The new fund, AlpInvest Co-Investment Fund VIII, exceeded its initial target of $3 billion. Just like its predecessors, the fund will invest alongside private equity firms in businesses in consumer, industrials, healthcare, technology, financial and business services, mostly in North America, Europe, and Asia, Richard Dunne, co-head of co-investments at AlpInvest, said in an interview.

• Citigroup Inc: A Canadian renewable energy firm on Wednesday sued Citigroup for rejecting force majeure declarations during a February winter storm and billing it over $100 million for replacement power, according to lawsuits filed in a Texas state court. Shannon Wind and Flat Top Wind, subsidiaries of Innergex Renewable Energy, operate North Texas wind farms that halted their wind turbines during an arctic deep freeze. Both had agreements to physically deliver power to Citi Energy, a unit of Citigroup, at fixed prices.

• Equinor SA: Equinor must fix a series of rule breaches exposed by a fire at its Melkoeya liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Norway last year for the plant to reopen, the country's safety watchdog said. "The serious breaches that we saw are related specifically to management and compliance to procedures ... and also to manning in the organisation," Anne Myhrvold, director of the PSA watchdog, told Reuters after presenting the investigation's findings.

• Exxon Mobil Corp: The company said on Wednesday it had begun to slowly ramp up oil production at its Guyana project to 100,000-110,000 barrels per day (bpd), after a gas compressor problem prompted it to slash output to 30,000 bpd last week. Repairs or replacement of equipment at the gas compressor aboard the Liza Destiny floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit are expected to take approximately three months, the company said.

• HSBC Holdings PLC: Climate activists shattered 19 windows at HSBC's headquarters in London's Canary Wharf as part of a protest against the financing of what the group says is devastating climate change that threatens the planet. The female activists from the Extinction Rebellion group used hammers to break the windows and pasted stickers on them before sitting down to wait for the police to arrest them, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.

• Intel Corp: A U.S. jury on Wednesday ruled in favor of Intel in a patent infringement lawsuit filed against it by VLSI Technology LLC. VLSI, a unit of the hedge fund Fortress Investment Group, had sued Intel in April 2019, alleging that products using "Speed Shift" technology infringed patents it had been assigned. VLSI had sought $3.1 billion in damages. The verdict was issued by a federal jury in Waco, Texas.

• Pfizer Inc: The company is in discussions with India and committed to make its COVID-19 vaccine available for deployment in the country, the U.S. drugmaker said. The company said it had offered India a not-for-profit price for its vaccine for the government's immunisation programme.

• UiPath Inc: Cathie Wood's ARK Invest snapped up shares of automation software provider UiPath Inc in its strong stock market debut on Wednesday, while trimming some holdings in Tesla. ARK Invest's data showed the firm's exchange traded funds bought a total of about 2.7 million shares, about a third of the day's traded volume.

• Walt Disney Co: The company said on Wednesday it had reached a deal with Sony Pictures to bring new "Spider-Man" movies and other films to Disney's streaming services and TV networks in the United States after they play on Netflix. Disney also secured rights to offer hundreds of older Sony films much sooner, including "Jumanji" and "Hotel Transylvania." The company said it will add a significant number of Sony titles to Hulu starting in June.

• WPP PLC: WPP said it planned to make the world's largest advertising company reach net zero carbon emissions by 2025 by incorporating many of the virtual production solutions it has developed during the pandemic. Announcing on Earth Day what it said was the industry's most ambitious climate target, the British company said it would also work with media partners in television and online to ensure its supply chain is a net zero producer by 2030.


POLL
U.S. economy on a solid footing, coronavirus still top threat
The U.S. economy will grow at its fastest annual pace in decades this year and outperform most of its major peers, with the outlook upgraded sharply, but another COVID-19 surge was the biggest risk over the next three months, a Reuters poll showed.


ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION
• Alphabet Inc: Jefferies raises target price to $2,700 from $2,400 on expectations that the company will benefit in 2021 from advertising spend recovery, pent-up demand for Google Cloud and call options on Waymo and other non-advertising initiatives.

• Anthem Inc: Credit Suisse raises target price to $425 from $382 to reflect the strong first quarter and the Medicare sequestration moratorium extension.

• Facebook Inc: Jefferies raises target price to $360 from $350, saying in addition to a better-than-expected first quarter, there is also expectation of positive commentary around e-commerce and a lowering of the FY21 expense guide to support the stock.

• Halliburton Co: ATB Capital Markets raises rating to outperform from sector perform, saying that the stock is oversold.

• Nasdaq Inc: Piper Sandler raises target price to $175 from $169 after the company reported a strong first-quarter revenue and expense beat driven by non-transaction revenues.


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0830 (approx.) Initial jobless claims: Expected 617,000; Prior 576,000
0830 (approx.) Jobless claims 4-week average: Prior 683,000
0830 (approx.) Continued jobless claims: Expected 3.667 mln; Prior 3.731 mln
0830 (approx.) National Activity Index for Mar : Prior -1.09
1000 Existing home sales for Mar: Expected 6.19 mln; Prior 6.22 mln
1000 Existing home sales percentage change for Mar: Expected 0.8%; Prior -6.6%
1000 (approx.) Leading index change mm for Mar: Expected 1.0%; Prior 0.2%
1100 (approx.) KC Fed Manufacturing for Apr: Prior 23
1100 (approx.) KC Fed Composite Index for Apr: Prior 26


COMPANIES REPORTING RESULTS
Allegion PLC: Expected Q1 earnings of $1.02 per share
American Electric Power Company Inc: Expected Q1 earnings of $1.17 per share
Celanese Corp: Expected Q1 earnings of $2.96 per share
FirstEnergy Corp: Expected Q1 earnings of 68 cents per share
Freeport-McMoRan Inc: Expected Q1 earnings of 51 cents per share
Genuine Parts Co: Expected Q1 earnings of $1.15 per share
HCA Healthcare Inc: Expected Q1 earnings of $3.32 per share
Intel Corp: Expected Q1 earnings of $1.15 per share
Nucor Corp: Expected Q1 earnings of $3.09 per share
Pentair PLC: Expected Q1 earnings of 62 cents per share
People's United Financial Inc: Expected Q1 earnings of 34 cents per share
Seagate Technology PLC: Expected Q3 earnings of $1.32 per share
SVB Financial Group: Expected Q1 earnings of $6.47 per share
Union Pacific Corp: Expected Q1 earnings of $2.06 per share
Verisign Inc: Expected Q1 earnings of $1.30 per share


CORPORATE EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0800 AutoNation Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0800 Biogen Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0800 Danaher Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
0800 Discover Financial Services: Q1 earnings conference call
0800 Dow Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0800 Landstar System Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0800 Lockheed Martin Corp: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0800 SLM Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
0800 Whirlpool Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
0830 American Airlines Group Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0830 AT&T Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0830 CACI International Inc: Q3 earnings conference call
0830 D.R. Horton Inc: Q2 earnings conference call
0830 Equifax Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0830 Huntington Bancshares Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0830 Quest Diagnostics Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0845 Union Pacific Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
0900 AGCO Corp: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0900 AGNC Investment Corp: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0900 American Electric Power Company Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0900 Blackstone Group Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0900 Churchill Downs Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0900 Citizens Financial Group Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0900 IQVIA Holdings Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0900 Olin Corp: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0900 Pfizer Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0900 Signature Bank: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0900 Valmont Industries Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0930 AES Corp: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0930 Chart Industries Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
0930 Crown Holdings Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0930 Humana Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0930 Interactive Brokers Group Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
0930 Texas Instruments Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1000 Cleveland-Cliffs Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1000 Freeport-McMoRan Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1000 HCA Healthcare Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1000 Johnson & Johnson: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1000 Littelfuse Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1000 Marketaxess Holdings Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1000 Old Dominion Freight Line Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1000 Silicon Laboratories Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1000 Snap-On Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1000 Tractor Supply Co: Q1 earnings conference call
1000 Valero Energy Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
1000 Watsco Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1030 Crown Castle International Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
1100 First American Financial Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
1100 Genuine Parts Co: Q1 earnings conference call
1100 Globe Life Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1100 Graco Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1100 J B Hunt Transport Services Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1100 Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1100 Magellan Midstream Partners LP: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1100 Pool Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
1100 Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co: Q1 earnings conference call
1100 RLI Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
1100 Sonoco Products Co: Q1 earnings conference call
1130 Alaska Air Group Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1130 East West Bancorp Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1200 Edison International: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1230 Southwest Airlines Co: Q1 earnings conference call
1300 Rexford Industrial Realty Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1400 Nucor Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
1400 SL Green Realty Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
1500 Old Republic International Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
1600 Webster Financial Corp: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1630 Avery Dennison Corp: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1630 Skechers USA Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1630 Verisign Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1700 Boston Beer Company Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1700 Carlisle Companies Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1700 Intel Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
1700 Mattel Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1700 Snap Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1800 Intuitive Surgical Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1800 SVB Financial Group: Q1 earnings conference call
1930 SVB Financial Group: Annual Shareholders Meeting


EXDIVIDENDS
CVS Health Corp: Amount $0.50
nVent Electric PLC: Amount $0.17
Procter & Gamble Co: Amount $0.86

Goedemorgen
De cijfers van ASML helpen de AEX behoorlijk want de index kon hierdoor 9 punten hoger sluiten wat veel meer is dan de andere indices die we volgen. De DAX en Wall Street kwamen gedurende de sessie nog negatief te staan, de AEX niet. Wel is het zo dat op slotbasis alles in de plus wist te sluiten, de DAX won ook 66 punten terwijl de CAC 40 met 45 punten winst de dag afsloot.

De markt momenteel:
Europa dus hoger en vanmorgen zien we daar niet zoveel verandering in want de futures staan vlak tot iets lager. Wall Street won gisteren dan toch behoorlijk na een slechte start van de week. Zo zien we meteen dat de indices niet ver onder hun top ofwel hun hoogste stand ooit blijven. Een sessie als gisteren zet alles in no-time weer dicht bij de zone van de waarheid ofwel het punt waar er snel weer twijfels gaan ontstaan.

De Dow Jones won gisteren 316 punten met een slot op 34.137 punten wat amper 120 punten onder het record uitkomt. De S&P 500 sluit 38 punten hoger met een slot op 4173,4 punten en dat is 18 punten onder de recordstand. Zowel de Dow Jones als de S&P 500 sluiten op iets van 0,35% onder hun hoogste stand ooit. De Nasdaq en de Nasdaq 100 sluiten ook hoger maar moeten wel nog 1% hoger geraken om tot een nieuw record te komen. Opvallend is dat de Dow Jones Transport index er nu als enige in slaagt om met een nieuw record af te sluiten woensdag, dat had ik na dat het even wat stroever verliep met deze index niet verwacht.

Europa laat na enkele mindere dagen een stevige rebound zien terwijl Wall Street maakt het gat dat was ontstaan tussen de recordreeks en de correctie die op gang kwam vanaf maandag meteen weer sluit. Veel nieuws was er niet woensdag maar berichten die naar buiten kwamen dat de FED liet weten niet van plan te zijn om te stoppen met het opkopen van obligaties zorgde ervoor dat de markt weer een impuls kreeg. Het blijft een markt waar dips enorm snel worden opgekocht desondanks dat de waardering van de markt torenhoog is.

Dan nog even kort de reactie op de cijfers van ASML en Netflix, ASML won 4,1% na dat het bedrijf in Q1 van 2021 de eigen doelstellingen ruim had behaald, de analisten hadden dat ook al verwacht. ASML is ook positiever geworden over de omzetontwikkeling voor de rest van het jaar. Aan de andere kant was er ook de reactie op de cijfers van Netflix, die werden niet goed ontvangen waardoor het aandeel met ruim 7,5% omlaag moest. Het probleem was dat het bedrijf bekendmaakte dat er tijdens het eerste kwartaal te weinig nieuwe abonnees bij kwamen.

We bekijken nu vooral hoe het deze week verder zal verlopen, de posities werden al gesloten en zo ben ik vrij om weer een nieuwe instap te zoeken voor de leden. In deze markt blijf ik vrij rustig handelen uiteraard, en vooral ook niet te veel want het is al moeilijk genoeg om wat winst te behalen zonder al te veel risico te nemen. Ik ga rustig verder, mogelijk vandaag of morgen komen er wat nieuwe posities ...

Resultaat dit jaar verloopt naar wens maar rustig:
De eerste 3 maanden dit jaar werden positief afgerond en met december erbij komen we nu uit op 4 maanden na elkaar dat er winst werd behaald via de signalen. Dat moest voorzichtig gebeuren want ik hou in het achterhoofd rekening met het scenario wat ik net aangaf, over een aanstaande grote correctie over de gehele markt. Niettemin blijf ik rustig verder opbouwen wat betreft de posities.

Deze manier van werken wil ik hoe dan ook proberen aan te houden, het handelen onder de huidige omstandigheden krijg ik steeds beter onder controle en ik probeer met kleine posities zo als goed mogelijk te werken voor de leden. Onderaan deze update ziet u nog een overzicht met hoe de maand maart werd afgerond en hoe we er dit jaar voor staan wat betreft het resultaat via de signalen die we naar onze leden versturen.

LET OP !! Vanaf vandaag een nieuwe aanbieding die loopt vanaf nu tot 1 JULI voor €39 (Polleke Trading €49) ... Via de site en dan de Tradershop kunt zich inschrijven en daar kunt u als lid de lopende posities met alle details altijd inzien. Ga naar de Tradershop en schrijf u meteen in ... https://www.usmarkets.nl/tradershop

Euro, olie en goud:
De euro zien we nu rond de 1.203 dollar, de prijs van een vat Brent olie komt uit op 65,1 dollar terwijl een troy ounce goud nu op 1793 dollar staat.

De LIVEBLOG en Twitter:
Via de LIVEBLOG en tussendoor ook via mijn Twitter account laat ik gedurende de dag ook wat grafiekjes met korte uitleg voorbij komen over de markt. Op Twitter kunt u mij volgen via @USMarkets dan kunt u deze snelle informatie die ik deel uiteraard ook inzien .... https://twitter.com/USMarkets , ook opvallende beursfeiten komen er vaak langs !

Inter Market overzicht op slotbasis ...

LET OP !! Vanaf vandaag een nieuwe aanbieding die loopt vanaf nu tot 1 JULI voor €39 (Polleke Trading €49) ... Via de site en dan de Tradershop kunt zich inschrijven en daar kunt u als lid de lopende posities met alle details altijd inzien. Ga naar de Tradershop en schrijf u meteen in ... https://www.usmarkets.nl/tradershop

Met vriendelijke groet,
Guy Boscart

MARKET VIEW
Asian stocks rose, extending a rebound in global markets following a sharp selloff earlier this week, while oil prices eased again on worries about rising COVID-19 cases in some parts of the world.

Oil prices fell for a third day as a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories and a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in India and Japan raised concerns that a recovery in global economy and fuel demand may slow.

GLOBAL TOP NEWS
The European Central Bank will keep policy unchanged on Thursday, emphasizing that its stimulus measures are keeping the pandemic-struck economy afloat so they should not be clawed back too soon.

A bipartisan U.S. congressional push to counteract China picked up steam on Wednesday as a Senate committee overwhelmingly backed a bill pressing Beijing on human rights and economic competition and other lawmakers introduced a measure seeking billions for technology research.

A panel of U.S. senators questioned officials from Apple and Alphabet's Google on Wednesday about the dominance of their mobile app stores and whether the companies abuse their power at the expense of smaller competitors.

EUROPEAN COMPANY NEWS
Credit Suisse had more than $20 billion of exposure to investments related to Archegos Capital Managementand struggled to monitor them before the fund had to liquidate many large positions, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Airbus has launched the biggest shake-up of its manufacturing network in more than a decade, with large-parts activities reorganized in France and Germany and some small-parts production hived off ahead of a possible sale.

A Mexican judge has sided with Bayer in a legal challenge to a government plan to prohibit glyphosate, according to the ruling seen by Reuters on Wednesday, providing temporary relief from a looming ban on the widely used herbicide.

TODAY'S COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
AB SKF Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Acea SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Aggreko PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Akzo Nobel NV Annual Shareholders Meeting
Alimak Group AB (publ) Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Allegion PLC Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Amsterdam Commodities NV Annual Shareholders Meeting
Arcticzymes Technologies ASA Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Asetek A/S Q1 2021 Earnings Release & Annual Shareholders Meeting
Axfood AB Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Banca IFIS SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Banca Profilo SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Bankinter SA Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Barry Callebaut AG HY 2021 Earnings Call
Basic Fit NV Annual Shareholders Meeting
Be Shaping the Future SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Bidstack Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Blue Financial Communication SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Bouygues SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Carmila SA Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Cembra Money Bank AG Annual Shareholders Meeting
CLS Holdings PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Comer Industries SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Comet Holding AG Annual Shareholders Meeting
Compagnie Plastic Omnium SE Annual Shareholders Meeting
Core Laboratories NV Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Costamp Group SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Credit Suisse Group AG Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Crimson Tide PLC Shareholders Meeting
Dedicare AB (publ) Annual Shareholders Meeting
Deutsche Boerse AG Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Dev Clever Holdings PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
DiaSorin SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Dignity PLC Shareholders Meeting
Domino's Pizza Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Duni AB Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Emakina Group SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
EQT AB Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Equals Group PLC FY 2020 Earnings Call
Eurofins Scientific SE Annual Shareholders Meeting
Flughafen Zuerich AG Annual Shareholders Meeting
Fugro NV Annual Shareholders Meeting
Gecina SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Geox SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Gjensidige Forsikring ASA Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Granges AB Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Greatland Gold PLC Shareholders Meeting
Haldex AB Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Hansa Biopharma AB Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Heineken Holding NV Annual Shareholders Meeting
Heineken NV Annual Shareholders Meeting
HSBC Bank Malta PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Huhtamaki Oyj Q1 2021 Earnings Release & Annual Shareholders Meeting
Husqvarna AB Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Ibstock PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Immofinanz AG FY 2020 Earnings Call
Inficon Holding AG Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Informa PLC FY 2020 Earnings Call
Ipsos SA Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Jarvis Securities PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
John Mattson Fastighetsforetagen publ AB Annual Shareholders Meeting
JPmorgan Claverhouse Investment Trust PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Kering SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Kinnevik AB Q1 2021 Earnings Release
MailUp SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Mercell Holding AS Annual Shareholders Meeting
Mercialys SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Moncler SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Munters Group AB Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Mycronic AB (publ) Q1 2021 Earnings Call
National Grid PLC Shareholders Meeting
Nederman Holding AB Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Nordic Entertainment Group AB Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Pentair PLC Q1 2021 Earnings Call
PGS ASA Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Proact IT Group AB Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Raiffeisen Bank International AG Annual Shareholders Meeting
Relx PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Rexel SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
RIT Capital Partners PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Salvatore Ferragamo SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
SAP SE Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Savencia SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Seagate Technology PLC Q3 2021 Earnings Release
SEGRO PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Soc D Explosifs Produits Chimiques SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
SThree PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Sweco AB (publ) Annual Shareholders Meeting
Tele2 AB Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Teleperformance SE Annual Shareholders Meeting
Thule Group AB Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Trelleborg AB Q1 2021 Earnings Release & Annual Shareholders Meeting
TXT e solutions SpA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Valmet Oyj Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Veolia Environnement SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Vitrolife AB Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Voltalia SA Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Volvo AB Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Wartsila Oyj Abp Q1 2021 Earnings Release
Wolters Kluwer NV Annual Shareholders Meeting

ECONOMIC EVENTS (All times GMT)
0600 Switzerland Trade for Mar: Prior 3,699 mln CHF
0645 France Business Climate Manufacturing for Apr: Expected 99; Prior 98
0645 (approx.) France Business Climate Overall for Apr: Prior 97
0800 (approx.) Italy Industrial Sales mm SA for Feb: Prior 2.5%
0800 (approx.) Italy Industrial Sales yy WDA for Feb: Prior -1.6%
0900 Belgium Consumer Confidence Index for Apr: Prior -4
1000 United Kingdom CBI Business Optimism for Q2: Prior -22
1000 United Kingdom CBI Trends - Orders for Apr: Expected 2; Prior -5
1145 Euro Zone ECB Refinancing Rate for Apr: Expected 0.00%; Prior 0.00%
1145 Euro Zone ECB Deposit Rate for Apr: Expected -0.50%; Prior -0.50%
1400 Euro Zone Consumer Confidence Flash for Apr: Expected -10.8; Prior -10.8
2301 (approx.) United Kingdom GfK Consumer Confidence for Apr: Expected -12; Prior -16