DE30 swings around the 12000 pts handle

• DE30 trades in the vicinity of the psychological 12000 pts barrier

• Bayer (BAYN.DE) surges as Roundup trial gets postponed

• Osram (OSR.DE) sinks as AMS takeover bid fails to gather required support

Main stock market indices from Europe opened lower on Monday as investors got concerned over reports that China may pursue narrower trade deal during trade talks scheduled for this week. French equities underperformed the most at the session opening while stocks from Switzerland and Poland were the only ones to launch trading slightly above Friday’s closing prices.

Source: xStation5

The German DE30 index managed to bounce off the 200-session moving average and the support zone ranging below 11900 pts at the end of the previous week. The index pulled back below the 50-session moving average (green line) during today’s pre-market trading but managed to jump back above it after session opened. The 50-session moving average should act the near-term support to watch as it coincides with the psychological 12000 pts barrier. The zone ranging between 12130 and 12180 pts is the nearest resistance to keep in mind. However, as no key data is scheduled for release today, one may expect indices as well as other asset classes to react primarily to trade and Brexit related headlines.

Bayer (BAYN.DE) can be found among DAX leaders on Monday thanks to news of Roundup trial postponement. Source: Bloomberg

Bayer (BAYN.DE) surges today thanks to optimistic news related to Roundup trials. The company announced that trial in St. Louis was postponed and will take place next year. In turn, no more new trials will take place in the remaining months of 2019. The company will focus on appealing to three rulings that it had lost.

Osram (OSR.DE) trades significantly lower today as takeover bid of AMS failed to gather required shareholders’ support. 51.6% of Osram shareholders approved the tender while required threshold was set at 62.5%. Nevertheless, AMS said that it will keep exploring the options of acquiring the German lightning company. Two private equity firms, Bain Capital and Advent International, are also inspecting possibility of acquiring Osram but have not submitted a formal bid yet.

Daimler (DAI.DE) informed that German authorities launched a probe into its Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans. KBA, the German automotive regulator, will investigate whether faulty software was used in the vans after reports surfaced saying that as much as 260 thousand vehicles could be affected. Apart from that, Daimler received an upgrade at HSBC. The Bank raised the recommendation for the stock to “hold” from “reduce”. Price target was set at €45. However, the stock is trading lower therefore investors seem to be giving more weight to KBA news.

Following today’s lower opening Osram (OSR.DE) distanced away from the upper limit of the trading range. Given that price increases over the past 3 months were fuelled by M&A news, takeover bid failure could see the share price erase those gains. Osram investors should keep track of incoming news flow in order to see whether there are any chances for AMS or another company to acquire the lightning manufacturer. The first level to watch in case decline continues is €37 handle. Source: xStation5