EU indices drop at the opening bell TA focus on Deutsche Lufthansa

INDICES
Friday, European stocks remained heavy, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index declining 0.8% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 down by 2.3%. On Thursday, Germany's DAX 30 fell 2.2% and France's CAC 40 lost 2.1%. 

EUROPE ADVANCE/DECLINE
95% of STOXX 600 constituents traded lower or unchanged Friday.
74% of the shares trade above their 20D MA vs 86% Thursday (above the 20D moving average).
20% of the shares trade above their 200D MA vs 23% Thursday (above the 20D moving average).

The Euro Stoxx 50 Volatility index added 3.19pts to 33.91, a new 52w high.

SECTORS vs STOXX 600
3mths relative high: none
3mths relative low: none

Europe Best 3 sectors
automobiles & parts, construction & materials, chemicals

Europe worst 3 sectors
basic resources, travel & leisure, insurance

INTEREST RATE
The 10yr Bund yield fell 9bps to -0.59% (below its 20D MA). The 2yr-10yr yield spread fell 0bp to -17bps (above its 20D MA).

ECONOMIC DATA
FR 08:50: Apr Markit Manufacturing PMI final, exp.: 43.2
GE 08:55: Apr Markit Manufacturing PMI final, exp.: 45.4
EC 09:00: Apr Markit Manufacturing PMI final, exp.: 44.5
FR 14:00: 3-Mth BTF auction, exp.: -0.45%
FR 14:00: 12-Mth BTF auction, exp.: -0.4%
FR 14:00: 6-Mth BTF auction, exp.: -0.43%

MORNING TRADING
In Asian trading hours, EUR/USD retreated to 1.0948 and GBP/USD extended its decline to 1.2460. USD/JPY slid to 106.69.

Spot gold held gains at $1,697 an ounce.


#UK#
Inchcape, a multi-brand Automotive Distributor and Retailer, Duncan Tait, formerly a board member of Tokyo-listed Fujitsu, will succeed Stefan Bomhard as CEO.

IG Group, an online trading services provider, announced the appointment of Charlie Rozes, formerly group finance director at Jardine Lloyd Thompson, as CFO.


#GERMANY#
Deutsche Lufthansa, an airline group, might reach a deal with the German government on an aid package "soon", reported Bloomberg citing an internal letter.


Source: GAIN Capital, TradingView

Wirecard, a digital financial commerce platform operator, was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at HSBC.


#FRANCE#
Societe Generale, a banking group, might record 3.5 - 5.0 billion euros provisions this year due to the coronavirus impacts, according to Reuters.

Airbus, an aircraft manufacturer, is not in a position to require immediate support from the French government, according to French Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin cited by Radio J.

BioMerieux, a biotechnology company, reported that it has received Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its BIOFIRE RP2.1 panel, which includes 22 pathogens that cause respiratory infections, including SARS-CoV-2 (the cause of COVID-19 disease).


#SPAIN#
Telefonica, a telecommunications company, confirmed it is in talks with Liberty Global regarding a potential merger of their U.K. operations, O2 wireless unit and Virgin Media.


#SWITZERLAND#
Roche, an international drug maker, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the Company's new COVID-19 test Elecsys. The company said: "Roche has already started shipping the new antibody test to leading laboratories globally and will ramp up production capacity to high double-digit millions per month to serve healthcare systems in countries accepting the CE mark as well as the U.S.."


#SCANDINAVIA#
DNB, a Norwegian financial services group, was downgraded to "equalweight" from "overweight" at Morgan Stanley.


EX-DIVIDEND
Sanofi: E3.15, UCB: E1.24