Not much happened in Europe yesterday, with the main financial markets ending the day around equilibrium. Paris and Frankfurt ended down by 0.24% and 0.10% respectively, while London and Zurich also treaded water with respective scores of -0.16% and -0.19%. In the absence of Wall Street, closed for Labor Day, Monday wasn't very hectic, as the only entertainment of the day came from Christine Lagarde, who spoke at a seminar organized by the European Economic and Financial Centre. If you were expecting more details on the direction of the European Central Bank's monetary policy, well, you lucked out, as Christine Lagarde focused her speech entirely on how to better convey the ECB's monetary policy.

Let's get back to business with the data of the day, or rather of the night: China's services PMI for August. According to the Caixin marker, business sentiment in the tertiary sector is not in the best of shape, coming very close to the 50-point threshold, which demarcates zones of contraction (index below 50 points) and growth (index above 50 points). Specifically, the Caixin Services PMI contracted to 51.8 points from 54.1 points in July. It should be noted that economists were indeed expecting a decline in services growth, but not of this magnitude, since the consensus was 53.6 points. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to consult the US equivalent, the ISM services index.

Still on the macroeconomic front, the Australian central bank left its key rate unchanged at 4.10%. As he did last month, the RBA governor cited the uncertainty of the economic outlook to justify this status quo, in order to give himself more time to assess the impact of the interest rate hikes implemented so far. Tomorrow, it will be the turn of the Central Bank of Canada to announce its monetary policy decision, again with a pause expected by consensus.

US equity futures were little changed Tuesday as traders digest China’s latest economic data. Airbnb and Blackstone climbed 5.2% and 4.3% respectively in pre-market trading as the two groups enter the S&P-500 index. They will replace Lincoln National and Newell Brands.

Today's economic highlights:

The final August services PMIs for the major European economies, eurozone producer prices and US factory orders are on the agenda. 

The dollar rises about 0.4% against the euro and the pound to EUR 0.9308 and GBP 0.7953. The ounce of gold is down to USD 1934. Oil remains high, with North Sea Brent at USD 88.47 a barrel and US light crude WTI at USD 85.47. The yield on 10-year US debt reached 4.216%. Bitcoin is trading at around USD 25,700.

In corporate news:

  • Tesla - The automaker sold 84,159 electric vehicles manufactured in China in August, up 9.3% year-on-year.
  • Ford will postpone series production of its Explorer SUV model at its Cologne site by around six months, to wait for a new generation of Volkswagen battery technology to become available.
  • Chevron - Employees of the American group in Australia are planning a two-week strike from September 14 at the Gorgon and Wheatstone liquefied natural gas production sites, a union alliance said on Tuesday.
  • Qualcomm - The US semiconductor supplier said Tuesday it would supply chips to automakers Mercedes and BMW to power their infotainment systems.
  • Genmab, Seagen said Monday that the Phase III trial of their drug Tivdak in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer who are receiving or have received first-line therapy has met its primary endpoint of overall survival.
  • Viper energy partners announced on Tuesday the acquisition of certain mining assets in the Permian Basin from affiliates of Warwick Capital Partners and GRP Energy Capital in a cash and stock transaction worth approximately $1 billion.
  • Arm, owned by Softbank, is looking to raise up to $4.87 billion in its US IPO, according to a financial notice published on Tuesday.
  • Nextgen Healthcare is up 13% in pre-opening trading, with Bloomberg reporting that private equity firm Thoma Bravo is in advanced talks to buy the group.
  • Viatris - The drugmaker is up 2.6% after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted provisional approval for the use of an HIV drug in children weighing at least 6 kg.

Analyst recommendations:

  • Alimentation couche tard: Desjardins Securities maintains its buy recommendation with a target price raised from CAD 74 to CAD 79.
  • American express: RBC Capital upgrades to outperform from sector perform. PT up 1.5% to USD 200.
  • Asos plc: BNP Paribas Exane maintains its neutral recommendation with a reduced target price of GBp 435.
  • Associated british foods: BNP Paribas Exane maintains its outperform recommendation with a raised target price from 2275 to 2300 GBp.
  • Avalonbay commun: BMO Capital Markets downgrades to outperform from market perform. PT down 2.3% to USD 210.
  • Biogen inc: Morgan Stanley maintains an overweight/attractive rating with a target price raised from USD 363 to USD 381.
  • Bunzl plc: Goodbody upgrades its recommendation from hold to buy. The target price is increased from 3000 to 3200 GBp.
  • Cameco corp: Canaccord Genuity maintains a buy recommendation with a target price raised from CAD 49.50 to CAD 56.
  • Canadian national railway: Wolfe Research maintains its outperform rating with a raised target price of $143.
  • Capital one fina: RBC Capital maintains its sector perform rating with a reduced target price of USD 113.
  • Cmc markets plc: Peel Hunt upgrades its recommendation from under review to add, with a target price of GBp 140.
  • Csx corp: Wolfe Research maintains its outperform rating with a target price raised from USD 38 to USD 42.
  • Discover financi: RBC Capital maintains its outperform rating with a reduced target price of USD 120.
  • Eli lilly: Berenberg maintains a buy recommendation with a target price raised from 500 to USD 600.
  • Essex property: BMO Capital Markets downgrades to underperform from market perform. PT up 2.2% to USD 235.
  • Fox corp: Rosenblatt Securities Inc. maintains a neutral recommendation with a target price raised from 33 to USD 34.
  • Jd sports fashio: BNP Paribas Exane maintains its outperform recommendation with a reduced target price from 230 to 200 GBp.
  • Johnson & johnson: Guggenheim maintains a neutral recommendation with a reduced target price of USD 169.
  • Keysight tec: Goldman Sachs upgrades its recommendation from neutral to buy, with a target price increase from USD 146 to USD 164.
  • Kingfisher plc: BNP Paribas Exane maintains its neutral recommendation with a reduced target price of 250 GBp.
  • Lowe's: Bernstein upgrades its recommendation from market perform to outperform and raises the target price from USD 252 to USD 282.
  • Lululemon ath: Bernstein upgrades its recommendation from underperform to market perform. The target price is raised from USD 328 to USD 366.
  • Mid-america apar: BMO Capital Markets maintains its market perform recommendation with a reduced target price of USD 158.
  • Next plc: BNP Paribas Exane maintains its outperform recommendation with a raised target price from 7900 to 8100 GBp.
  • Norfolk southern: Wolfe Research maintains its outperform rating on the stock with a revised target price of USD 265, up from the previous target of USD 255.
  • Oracle corp: Barclays upgrades its recommendation from equalweight to overweight and raises its target price from USD 126 to USD 150.
  • J Sainsbury: JP Morgan downgrades to underweight from neutral. PT up 14% to GBP 2.38.
  • Spotify technolo: Canaccord Genuity maintains a buy recommendation with a target price raised from USD 170 to USD 180.
  • Synchrony financ: RBC Capital downgrades to sector perform from outperform. PT reduced from USD 41 to USD 37.
  • Tesco plc: JP Morgan downgrades to neutral from overweight. PT reduced from GBP 2.70 to GBP 2.50.