EUROPEAN EQUITIES UPDATE: European bourses edge higher on positive Chinese trade reports, GOOGL +5.5% pre-market

STOXX 600: U/C

• European bourses opened entirely in the green with sentiment boosted by positive trade updates from China, and following a stellar Alphabet earnings report (discussed below).


• To recap the Chinese news, China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase with Chinese authorities considering removing additional levies for medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane, according to Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter.


• Little move in futures was seen following the Chinese Politburo readout; it highlighted that fiscal policy will be more proactive and that China is to cut RRR and rates when needed and in a timely manner.


• However, around the time of the European cash open, sentiment waned a touch with indices currently sitting just off session lows. There was no clear catalyst for the pressure, but coincided with comments from China’s Foreign Ministry, which reiterated that China is not having consultations with the US on tariffs - downside which ultimately proved fleeting.


• The European docket has been fairly light thus far and does not look to pick up for the remainder of the day; ECB's Nagel, Rehn and Cipollone are on the docket.

Sectors: Mixed

• European sectors opened with a strong positive bias but are a little more mixed now.


• Travel & Leisure takes the top spot, with the sector propped up by post-earning strength in Accor (+4%) and Evoke (+1%). The former topped Q1 revenue expectations and highlighted that it saw “no cracks in demand” so far.


• Telecoms sits at the foot of the pile, with the downside driven by losses in Deutsche Telekom. The Co. holds a 51% stake in US peer T-Mobile, which reported Q1 results on Thursday. It beat on top and bottom lines, but wireless subscriber additions were weaker than expected.

Majors: CAC 40 +0.5%, DAX 40 +0.2%, FTSE 100 +0.1%

• The CAC 40 is one of the better performers in Europe today, with a number of post-earning gainers. Saint Gobain (+3.9%, strong sales and confirmed outlook), Safran (+3%, Revenue rises 17% Y/Y and confirmed its targets), Michelin (+2%, mixed results with rev. a little soft but automotive segment beat).

US Equity Futures: ES +0.4%, NQ +0.4%, RTY -0.1%

• Futures are mixed, with the ES and NQ in positive territory benefiting from the positive Chinese trade updates (mentioned above) and following strong Alphabet results.


• Breaking down Alphabet’s results; the Co. beat on both top- and bottom-lines, with other inner-metrics such as Search advertising also strong – shares currently trade higher by 5% in pre-market trade.


• The US day ahead is relatively quiet, aside from Final figures from the UoM survey.

25 Apr 2025 - 09:45- EquitiesEU Research- Source: Newsquawk