EUROPEAN EQUITIES UPDATE: Indices at session highs, LVMH fails to pop the bottle after poor results

STOXX 600: +0.8%

• European bourses are almost entirely in the green, as the mostly positive risk tone in the APAC session reverberates into Europe.


• Price action so far has really only been one way today, and that’s up; as it stands, indices reside at highs.


• The EZ docket today has included; German Wholesale Price Index (printed shy of expectations), Final French CPI (unrevised), ECB BLS (Credit standards tightened slightly), EZ Industrial Production (topped expectations), German Zew Economic Sentiment (well below expectations, but Current Conditions beat); on the latter, the accompanying commentary highlighted that "Erratic changes in US trade policy are weighing heavily on German expectations". Little reaction was seen in the equities complex following the metrics.

Sectors: Positive

• European sectors hold a strong positive bias, in-fitting with the risk tone.


• Consumer Products is the sole industry in the red today – thanks to the Luxury sector, which has been hampered by poor LVMH results (details in the CAC 40 section below). Food, Beverage and Tobacco is second from the bottom – with a number of alcohol names hit after LVMH saw weak cognac sales.


• Autos parks itself in the top spot after US President Trump said he is looking to help car companies and that there may be some things coming up. The likes of Stellantis (+6%), Renault (+2.5%) and BMW (+3.6%) all gain.

Others: FTSE 100 +0.9%, CAC 40 +0.3%, DAX 40 +1.6%

• FTSE 100 is firmer, in-fitting with the broader risk tone. Starting with the UK’s jobs report; unemployment remained unchanged from the prior (as expected), whilst average earnings (ex-bonus) printed a little shy of expectations – there was little move in FTSE 100 futures on the release. Overnight, UK BRC and Barclaycard spending data was released; the former highlighted some underlying strength in demand, whilst the latter sees spending to remain muted through to 2026. As for stocks; B&M European (+4%) tops the index after providing positive guidance amid strength in France. Outside of the FTSE 100; De La Rue (+12%) jumped at the open after it received a fresh GBP 1.30/shr buyout bid.


• The CAC 40 is lagging today, largely a factor of the hefty losses seen in its largest component, LVMH (-7.5%). The Co. reported poor results, missing on its headline metrics; at a regional level, US sales fell 3% whilst Asia ex-Japan fell 11%. It is also worth highlighting that Hermes' market value has now surpassed LVMH. LMVH also highlighted that customers curtailed the purchase of cognacs, and added that Wine/Spirit and Beauty divisions likely to be the most affected by tariff fall out; commentary which has hit brandy names such as Pernod Ricard (-2%) and Remy Cointreau (-2.3%). Elsewhere, Publicis (+1%) is a little firmer after reporting a beat on revenue and confirming its 2025 guidance.


• To recap some of the updates at a broader level; TomTom (+19%) soared at the open after it reported strong metrics across the board; Ericsson (+7%) moves higher after reporting a 61% jump on strong networks and broadly stronger than expected results; BE Semiconductor (+7.5%) benefits after Applied Materials took a 9% stake in the Co.

US Equity Futures: ES +0.3%, NQ +0.4%, RTY +0.4%

• Futures are entirely in the green, benefiting from the risk tone, which can be pinned to the recent US tariff exemptions and dovish commentary from Fed’s Waller in the prior session.


• Some modest downticks were seen following a Bloomberg report, which noted that China orders a halt to Boeing jet deliveries amid the trade war; Boeing -3% in pre-market trade.


• The US Day features import and export prices for March, and having already received PPI and CPI metrics for the month, this will help finalise expectations of what the March PCE inflation data will look like when it is released on April 30th.

15 Apr 2025 - 10:20- ForexData- Source: Newsquawk