Consumer Staples (XLP): The index has climbed back towards its declining 21-DMA on low volume after finding support at $80.5. It
continues to trade below its 50-DMA. RS line is trending downward with weak technical ratings. Overall, the index has underperformed the broader market in 2024.
Author: Tristan d'Aboville
European Weekly Summary
Key points from this week’s report:
Please refer to the attached PDF for the full report.
- Market Conditions:
- European indices have pulled back from near 52-week highs, currently testing critical support levels around the 50- and 200-day moving averages (DMA). The region’s average distribution is relatively high at 4.8, which indicates selling pressure.
- The Stoxx 600, in a downtrend, is facing resistance at its 200-DMA, while specific indices such as Denmark’s OMX, France’s CAC40, Austria’s ATX, Finland’s HEX25, and the Netherlands’ AEX are also noted for either underperformance or breaking below their 200-DMA.
O’Neil Consumer/Retail Weekly
Consumer Staples (XLP): The index has been under pressure in the last few weeks. It has rolled over from its declining 21-DMA and
broke below $80.48 on good volume. RS line is trending downward with weak technical ratings. Falling Up/Down volume ratio and
weak A/D Rating in the last few weeks indicate distribution in recent weeks.
European Weekly Summary
Key points from this week’s report:
Please refer to the attached PDF for the full report.
- The Stoxx 600 declined 1.2% last week and is finding support at the 50-DMA (10 bps below) on concerns of traffic hikes affecting major Stoxx 600 companies with significant exposure to the U.S. as odds of a Donald Trump victory narrow. Only 35% of the reporting companies on the Stoxx 600 beat estimates compared with a typical beat rate of 54%, per LSEG and Reuters.
- The index now trades 2% below its all-time highs and faces overhead resistance from the 10-DMA (47bps above) and 21-DMA (39bps above). We expect the indices to consolidate over the next week as investors further digest earnings and the U.S. election tightens heading into its final week. Buyside has mostly priced the weak earnings in Q3, owning to slowing consumer demand in the West and the continuing woes of the Chinese economy. Hence, the price action remains limited on the downside despite sharp profit warnings and wide misses on estimates by companies such as Mercedes Benz, Porsche, and Remy Cointreau later in the week. As the charts indicate, these shares have bottomed out; we recommend that investors do not go short on these names here and wait for further details on the stimulus data from China and consumer demand in the West before taking positions in these names.
- One of the best examples is luxury apparel stock Burberry, a long-time laggard, which jumped 14% over the past week and was among the top performers along with JDE Peet and the Thule Group. Cargotec, Mycronic, and Fortnox round the top five rally leaders of the past week. Abrdn, Eurofins, Axfood, Edenred, and Electrolux were among the worst performers, with shares plummeting after guidance cuts and broad Q3 misses.
- European Focus List Update: Biotage, Hemnet, and Novo Nordisk were removed from our European Focus List last week. Actionable names in the Focus List include DSV (DSV.DK; DSV:DC), Swissquote ‘R’ (SQN.CH; SQN:SW), Nemetschek (NEMX.DE; NEM:GR), Novozymes ‘B’ (NZY.DK; NSISB:DC), Schneider Electric (QT@F.FR; SU:FP), 3i Group (III.GB; III:LN), Relx (REL.GB; REL:LN), Ferrari (RACE.IT; RACE:IM), and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (SOBI.SE; SOBI:SS).
O’Neil Consumer/Retail Weekly
Consumer Staples (XLP): The index continues to consolidate around its 50-DMA. It found support at $80. A decisive break above
$83.5 should be bullish for the index. However, the RS line continues to trend downward with weak technical ratings.
O’Neil Consumer/Retail Weekly
Consumer Staples (XLP): The index bounced off its 50-DMA but formed a downside reversal at its declining 21-DMA on high volume.
The RS line is trending downward with weak technical ratings. A/D Rating continues to remain weak in the last few weeks indicating
distribution
European Weekly Summary
Key points from this week’s report:
Please refer to the attached PDF for the full report.
- Last week, the Stoxx 600 had a volatile week but ultimately closed with a 1% gain, staying above all its key moving averages. The rising 21-DMA (currently 52 bps below) continues to act as a reliable near-term support. The index remains 128 bps below its all-time high recorded on September 27. European markets were cautious ahead of the Q3 earnings season, with investors also awaiting further details on China’s stimulus package. While China pledged to “significantly increase” its debt to boost the economy, additional specifics were scarce. The index may continue to tread water as it finds solid support close below, with the converging 10-day and 21-DMA (48 bps below) and the 50-day and 100-DMA (136 bps below).
- Sector performance was mixed last week. Health Care, which had been losing momentum recently, saw a 1.7% rally and was the top-performing sector, followed by Retail, which has outperformed over both four-week and 26-week periods. Conversely, the 1.1% and 0.4% declines in Basic Materials and Energy, respectively, paused the recent surges in these sectors.
- Banking stocks led the rally this week. BPER Banca (BPE.IT) and Banco Comercial Português (BCP.PT) were the top performers, breaking out of late-stage bases and are currently actionable. Unipol (UNI.IT), PKO Bank Polski (PKB.PL), and Banca Monte dei Paschi (BMPS.IT) round out the top five. On the downside, U.K.-based Vistry (VTY.GB) and Indivior (INDV.GB) were the worst performers in the Stoxx 600, with prices plunging after profit warnings. Long-time laggards Bayer (BAYNX.DE) and SES (SESG.FR) also saw sharp declines, approaching new lows.
- We have not made any changes to our European Focus List over the past week. Actionable Ideas include: Nemetschek (NEMX.DE; NEM:GR), 3i Group (III.GB; III:LN), H Lundbeck B (HLB.DK; HLUNB:DC), Novozymes B (NZY.DK; NSISB:DC), Schneider Electric (QT@F.FR; SU:FP), and Nkt (NKT.DK; NKT:DC).
- Weekly Score Cards – Stocks of Interest (Refer from page 7 to 18): Fresnillo (FRES.GB), Carnival (CCL.GB), Greencore (GNC.GB), Banco Comr. Portugues (BCP.PT), Truecaller (TRB.SE).
O’Neil Consumer/Retail Weekly
Consumer Staples (XLP): The index has lagged in the last few sessions and broke below its 21- and 50-DMA. It formed a downside
reversal after facing resistance at its declining 50-DMA. RS line is trending downward with weak technical ratings.
European Weekly Summary
Key points from this week’s report:
Please refer to the attached PDF for the full report.
- European indices declined 1.8% last week, declining from all-time highs for the fourth consecutive day before finding support at the 21-DMA on Friday and rising 85 bps following a strong jobs report in the U.S. With the Stoxx 600 settling near its short-term moving averages amid rising tensions in the Middle East, the number of breakouts normalized ~500 from last week’s 1,000+ level. The number of stocks trading near the pivot of their latest base declined for the third straight week, narrowing the leadership that was starting to emerge. However, stocks continue to form the right side of their bases, with the number of failed bases remaining stable near the lower end for 2024. We could see a re-emergence of leadership led by strength in the U.S., and it will be reflected in the Stoxx 600 reclaiming its 10-DMA on strong volume and rising back to the September 27 highs.
- On the sectoral front, Energy was the only bright spot as Oil and Oil Services stocks rallied in response to Middle East tensions. While Ubisoft (UBI.FR) led the rally among European stocks in the past week after the long-time laggards rose sharply on majority shareholder and the founders considering a buyout, the other top performing names belonged to the Energy sector, such as DNO (DNO.NO), which broke out of consolidation, Var Energi (VAR.NO), Frontline (FRO.NO), Aker (AKEP.NO), and Equinor (EQNR.NO). Refer to page 13. Transportation was among the worst-hit sectors, as U.S. workers and port operators agreed to temporarily cease strikes on the East and Gulf coast docks. Hence, shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk (DSB.DK) was the worst-performing stock in the Stoxx 600.
- We made no changes to our European Focus List, which continued to outperform its benchmark (+10.55% YTD vs. 8.31% for the Stoxx 600). The list still holds many actionable ideas: Adidas (ADSX.DE), Alfa Laval (ALF.SE), Swissquote ‘R’ (SQN.CH), Premier Foods (PFD.GB), 3i Group (III.GB), Flutter Entertainment (FLTR.GB), Novozymes B (NZY.DK), Schneider Electric (QT@F.FR), InPost (INPW.NL), Vitrolife (VITR.SE), Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (SOBI.SE), and Nkt (NKT.DK).
European Equities Strategy
Our view: The European luxury sector experienced a 15% V‐shaped recovery in just a few days, largely driven
by short covering following China’s announcement of a stimulus package aimed at boosting liquidity,
stimulating consumer spending, and revitalizing the real estate sector.