stocks, news, data and earnings

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally closed up 0.1% Monday as investors looked ahead to more central bank decisions, earnings and data due this week. Sectors were broadly positive, with miners up 1.5% to lead the gains.

Philips was the top individual performer, soaring 29% after the Dutch medical devices giant agreed a $1.1 billion settlement in a US case linked to the recall of some of its devices used to treat sleep apnea.

-Ryan Browne

Germany’s consumer price index rose 2.4% in April compared to a year ago, the German statistics office said Monday. The CPI increased by 0.6% from March, which logged a 2.3% year-on-year hike.

The figures are preliminary and have been harmonized to be comparable across the Euro zone, the statistics office noted.

Energy prices were 1.2% lower in April 2024 compared to a year earlier, the statistics office said, despite higher carbon prices coming into effect.

— Sophie Kiderlin

See Chart…

Deutsche Bank share price.

Deutsche Bank shares were 7% lower in early afternoon trade.

The German lender said in a Friday statement that it was making a provision of up to 1.3 billion euros ($1.39 billion) for the second quarter, following the latest hearing in a Cologne court in a long-running case alleging the bank should have paid a higher price for its acquisition of Postbank in 2010.

“While Deutsche Bank continues to disagree strongly with this assessment, the court’s statements will impact Deutsche Bank’s estimation of the probability of a future outflow, resulting in a legal provision in the second quarter of 2024. This provision will impact Deutsche Bank’s second quarter and full -year profitability and capital ratios,” it said Friday.

Shares saw a strong performance last Thursday on the bank’s first-quarter results, which showed continued recovery in investment banking revenue growth.

—Jenni Reid

Philips shares climbed 46% in morning deals, after the company said it had agreed a $1.1 billion settlement in the US for personal injury cases linked to the recall of some of its sleep apnea devices.

Shares hit their highest intraday level since March 1, 2022, according to LSEG data.

The provision was below the 2 to 4 billion euros that was expected, according to Barclays analyst Hassan Al-Wakeel. He added that 10 billion euros was feared in a worst-case scenario.

Philips CEO Roy Jakobs said it meant the “vast majority” of cases related to the recall were now resolved.

Read more here.

—Jenni Reid

European stocks were cautiously higher Monday morning, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 index opening in the green and trading 0.32% higher at 9:07 am London time.

The UK’s FTSE 100 was up 0.46%, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were higher by 0.24% and 0.34%, respectively.

See Chart…

Atos share price.

Beleaguered French IT firm Atos confirmed it had received an offer from the French state to acquire the activities of its big data and security business, spanning cybersecurity and advanced computing products.

French officials have stressed the importance of protecting the cash-strapped firm, which has high-level sensitive government contracts and is running data and cybersecurity for the summer’s Olympic Games.

The offer values ​​the business between 700 million euros ($750 million) and 1 billion euros. Atos said a due diligence phase would begin shortly, looking to a non-binding offer by early June 2024.

In its Monday update, Atos also said it now needs 1.1 billion euros in cash to fund the business through 2024 and 2025 as it undergoes a financial restructuring, up from the 600 million euros it previously flagged.

—Jenni Reid

The Philips office building in Warsaw, Poland, on July 29, 2021.

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Philips reported a loss of 998 million euros ($1.07 billion) in the first quarter, as the Dutch consumer products giant confirmed it had agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle US personal injury cases related to the recall of devices for treating sleep apnea.

The company said it had made a 982 million euro provision for the payout, adding that settling would end the uncertainty about the litigation for the company. It said it did not admit any fault or liability, or that any injuries were caused by its Respironics devices.

Adjusted earnings nevertheless beat consensus analyst expectations, according to Reuters, coming in at 388 million euros for the quarter.

Sales were slightly lower year on year, at 4.14 billion euros from 4.17 billion euros in 2023.

—Jenni Reid

The Japanese yen strengthened sharply in afternoon trading, hours after the currency slid past the 160 mark against the US dollar, hitting its weakest point in 34 years.

Since hitting that record, the yen strengthened against the greenback, trading at 155.43 at 2:12 pm local time. Japan’s markets are currently closed for a public holiday.

There was no official indication of an intervention by Japanese authorities, but traders and analysts have been on intervention watch for the yen in recent weeks.

A European company known for its bitcoin mining operations has recently transformed its business model to focus on cloud solutions and data center infrastructure.

The company’s cloud division is certified as an “Elite” partner of Nvidia, making it one of the largest providers of Nvidia-based cloud services in Europe.

Investment bank Berenberg believes the stock could go up by more than 50%, as the market is largely overlooking the cloud division’s potential.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

—Ganesh Rao

There’s one dividend stock that Morningstar says is “deeply undervalued” right now and which it’s bullish on for the long term.

It also identified it as one of its top picks for next year.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Only London’s FTSE index is open today with the German DAX, French CAC and Italian FTSE MIB closed for the May Day/Labour Day holiday.

The FTSE 100 index is expected to open 11 points lower at 8,132, according to data from IG.

Earnings come from GSK, Next, Abrdn, Metro Bank, Aston Martin Lagonda and Domino’s Pizza Group.

—Holly Ellyatt