EUROPEAN EQUITIES UPDATE: Stocks on a firmer footing in quiet trade

STOXX 600: +0.3%

• European bourses opened flat/modestly higher, but sentiment gradually improved as the session progressed to display a positive picture in Europe. Nothing really behind the upside today, but building on two prior days of strength (for the STOXX 600).


• The docket from a European perspective has been relatively light aside from a strong GDP dataset from the UK; this led to some modest upside in FTSE 100 futures at the time, but was ultimately short-lived.


• Focus has been on US President Trump’s continued calls for lower interest rates; Trump said rates should be three or four points lower, while he thinks he will name a new Fed chairman "a little bit early" and noted that he is down to three or four names.


• As for geopolitical developments, on Thursday, the POTUS, European leaders, and Ukrainian President Zelensky held a call, which Trump described as good, constructive commentary going into Friday’s meeting between Trump and Russian President Putin. On that, Trump said should if that meeting goes well, he would like to hold a second meeting soon after, which would include Zelensky. Earlier this morning, Politico reported that Trump told those on Wednesday's call that he is willing to contribute US security guarantees for Ukraine with some conditions.


• Docket ahead includes EZ GDP Flash Estimate (Q2), Industrial Production (Jun), Employment (Q2).

Sectors: Positive

• European sectors opened mixed but now hold a slight positive bias.


• Insurance takes the top spot and is the clear outperformer in Europe today; Swiss Re (+2.6%) benefits after posting strong H1 results and confirming its FY guidance. Also, booting sentiment is post-earnings upside in Admiral (+5%) and Aviva (+4%), which both reported a beat on op. profit.


• Basic Resources sits right at the foot of the pile, with the likes of Rio Tinto (-4%) slipping as it enters its ex-dividend date. Elsewhere, Antofagasta (+1%) posts a 60% increase in core earnings in H1 and confirmed its FY/Copper production guidance.

Movers:

• Zealand Pharma (ZEAL DC) +1% – H1 op. profit misses expectations


• Thyssenkrupp (TKA GY) -6.5% – 9M sales miss expectations, cuts outlook


• Hapag Lloyd (HLAG GY) -7.3% – Narrows FY EBITDA to EUR 2.8–3.8bln (prev. 2.5–4bln Y/Y)


• RWE (RWE GY) -3.2% – H1 adj. net income lower than expected, widens FY adj. EBITDA guidance

US Equity Futures:

• US Equity Futures are unchanged following a session of gains on Wednesday. The likely driver for stocks today will be US PPI data, which will be closely monitored for items that feed into the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge: PCE. Also on the docket is weekly jobless claims, expected to rise from 226k to 228k.


• Key stories: Cisco (-1%) issued a cautious FY outlook despite rising AI-related sales. Apple (U/C) is planning a major AI push, including a lifelike Siri, home-security cameras, a smart speaker with a display in 2026, and a tabletop companion robot targeted for 2027, Bloomberg reports.

14 Aug 2025 - 10:05- ForexGeopolitical- Source: Newsquawk