• Macro Equity markets were mixed yesterday. The S&P500 and Nasdaq ended in negative territory, both down -0.3% ahead of the Fed’s rate decision, and results from big tech. Europe was up +0.3% amidst easing trade uncertainty. UPS fell -10.5% after withholding outlook due to macroeconomic uncertainty. Novo Nordisk finished down -23% after dropping as low as -30% as the company cut sales and profits forecasts. In Europe, the trade deal with the US has faced criticism from European leaders, calling it unbalanced and stating it could threaten jobs and undermine the region’s economic recovery.The ECB signalled that rates are likely to stay steady for the near term, with Irish Central Bank Chief Gabriel Makhlouf saying there’s no need to rush into the next cut as inflation is in check, echoing Christine Lagarde and other policymakers. In the US, consumer confidence increased in July as concerns eased on outlook for the economy and labour market. June job openings fell to 7.44m in June vs 7.5m expected. The Fed’s FOMC is projected to leave rates unchanged today, for the fifth straight meeting. Economic releases today include the FOMC rate decision, MBA Mortgage Applications, US GDP and PCE. Eurozone GDP and Consumer Confidence are also out this morning.
• Stocks We have corporate news from PayPal (Q2 results), L’Oreal (H2 results), Visa (Q3 results) Greencoat Renewables (Q2 NAV update), GSK (Q2 results), Kerry Group (H1 results), Rio Tinto (H1 results) and M&A news on CRH (see pages 2 to 9))
• Debt US bond yields declined yesterday ahead of the FOMC meeting, with Trump threatening further sanctions on Russia impacting sentiment.

Opportunities this week:

• We are reiterating our BUY rating on Smurfit Kappa Group following the favourable news flow for the stock last week. (BUY PT: €47.50)
• Following further EU sanctions on Russian LNG and the acquisition of Pavilion Energy last week. We are reiterating our BUY rating on Shell. (BUY PT: £34)
• We are dropping our coverage of Newmont due to operational issues and the fact we no longer see it as a suitable proxy for the gold price. (Dropping Coverage)