European Movers: Glencore (GLEN LN) +8.2%, BNP Paribas (BNP FP) +3.1%, Antofagasta (ANTO LN) +3.0%, BMW (BMW GY) -0.3%, Aviva (AV/ LN) -1.0%, Rio Tinto (RIO LN) -2.2%, Sainsbury's (SBRY LN) -2.6%
Antofagasta (ANTO LN) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs
Aviva (AV/ LN) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley
BMW (BMW GY) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays
BNP Paribas (BNP FP) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan; PT EUR 102/shr (prev. EUR 89/shr)
Rio Tinto (RIO LN) / Glencore (GLEN LN) - Rio Tinto and Glencore resume talks on a mining megadeal, while Glencore confirmed it is in preliminary talks with Rio Tinto about a possible combination, but cannot confirm a deal will be agreed. Expectation is that any merger would be affected via acquisition of Glencore by Rio Tinto. Deal would create a mining behemoth with an enterprise value of more than USD 260bln.
Sainsbury's (SBRY LN) - Q3 (GBP): Sales 4.9% Y/Y (prev. 5.5% Q/Q); Total Retail Sales +3.9% Y/Y; LFL Sales +3.4% Y/Y (prev. +4.3% Q/Q). Guidance: Now expect Retail Cash Flow of more than 550mln (prev. guided 500mln). "We continue to expect to return more than £800 million of cash to shareholders this financial year through ordinary dividends, a £250 million special dividend and a £250 million share buyback".