EUROPEAN EQUITIES UPDATE: Stocks move higher, WISE LN to move listing to NY, ECB due

STOXX 600: +0.3%

• European bourses opened on either side of the unchanged mark, but soon after the cash open, indices caught a bid to depict a mostly positive environment. Nothing behind the move higher, but it occurred in tandem with a pick-up in US equity futures. Indices currently trading at highs.


• Trade updates have been somewhat lacking in the past day; more focus on US fiscal matters, with President Trump suggesting that “debt limits should be entirely scrapped”. On travel, he banned travel from 12 countries to the US, citing national security risks.


• Day ahead will feature the ECB policy announcement, where the Bank is widely expected to deliver a 25bps cut. More focus will therefore be on revisions to inflation/growth projections, which ING believes will have a dovish skew; thereafter Lagarde is to speak at her presser, though it is likely she will steer clear of any decisive guidance for future meetings.


• Focus will also be on a meeting between US President Trump and German Chancellor Merz. Sources familiar with the matter suggest the meeting will likely feature tariffs, defence spending and Russia-Ukraine. Germany’s ARD News suggests that Merz and Trump have a friendly relationship, and are said to be on a first name basis – so an “ambush” similar to that done to South African President Ramaphosa/Ukrainian President Zelenskiy may be unlikely.

Sectors: Mixed

• European sectors are mixed, with the breadth of the market fairly narrow today.


• Construction takes the top spot, joined closely by Tech and then Healthcare.


• Travel & Leisure sits at the foot of the pile, with the downside stemming from very poor FY results from Wizz Air (details below).

Majors: FTSE 100 +0.1%, CAC 40 +0.3%, DAX 40 +0.4%

• The FTSE 100 is incrementally firmer and whilst directionally in-fitting with peers, performance is not so great. For the UK more broadly, there have been two key stories; 1) UK is to unveil pension reform aimed at boosting retirement savings, which could force some schemes to invest in Britain, via FT. 2) ONS said April’s inflation was overstated by 0.1pp. As for stock specifics, Wise (+9%) soars after reporting strong results and announcing its plan to transfer its primary listing from the LSE to the US. Elsewhere, Wizz Air (-22%) nosedives after disappointing FY results; the Co. also did not give guidance for FY26 given the lack of visibility.

US Equity Futures: ES +0.1%, NQ +0.2%, RTY +0.1%

• Futures are modestly in the green, with indices moving in tandem with the pick-up seen in Europe.


• The US Day sees the release of weekly jobless claims (seen at 235k from 240k) and continuing claims (seen at 1.91mln from 1.919mln). US Q1 unit labour cost revisions are expected to see the headline unrevised to 5.7%, and productivity is expected to be confirmed at -0.8%. Meanwhile, the international trade deficit is seen narrowing to USD 70bln (vs 141bln previously).


• On Wednesday, Barclays raised its SPX PT to 6050, suggesting that the highest level of tariff uncertainty has likely passed, which should allow for modest valuation expansion, though risks include concerns surrounding the fiscal outlook and weaker consumers. Its base case scenario sees the S&P 500 hitting 6050; bull case 6,600, and a bear case view of 4,500.

05 Jun 2025 - 10:15- ForexEU Research- Source: Newsquawk