EUROPEAN EQUITIES UPDATE: Stocks saunter higher in light newsflow, ASM NA cut guidance

STOXX 600: +0.5%

• European bourses opened with a slight positive bias, with a couple of indices opening lower. However, as the session progressed, sentiment picked up a touch and sauntered higher to current peaks.


• Nothing really behind the pick-up in sentiment, but does come following a number of European PMI metrics, which were net a little better than expected. French metrics were dire (all missed the most pessimistic of analyst expectations), Germany (Manufacturing missed whilst Services surprisingly climbed into expansionary territory), EZ (Manufacturing missed whilst Services beat expectations); the accompanying release noted that "Selling prices have cooled more noticeably, which might just prompt the ECB to consider whether a rate cut before year’s end could be back on the table”. As for UK PMI figures, both Services and Manufacturing were worse than expected.


• Some of the upside could also be explained by traders digesting and playing catch-up to reports that NVIDIA is to invest USD 100bln into OpenAI – adding fuel to the already rampant Tech sector.


• Data docket for the remainder of the day is now fairly thin, aside from central bank speak from BoE’s Pill and ECB’s Cipollone. More focus state-side (detailed below).

Sectors: Positive

• European sectors hold a strong positive bias, with only a couple of industries residing marginally in the red.


• Retail takes the top spot, buoyed by strength in Kingfisher (+17%) after it reported strong metrics and upgraded its guidance, citing strong demand in the UK. Travel & Leisure follows closely behind, with airliners seemingly making back some of the cyber-attack related weakness seen in the prior session; easyJet (+2%) and Ryanair (+2%) both move higher.


• Healthcare is found right at the foot of the pile, no company-specific drivers but perhaps some jitters surrounding Trump’s move to link paracetamol use during pregnancy with autism. The broader positive risk tone may also be weighing on the defensive sector also.

Others:

• ASM International -0.8%; Confirms Q3 Revenue guidance -5% to flat, lowers H2 guidance, due to lower-than-exp. demand in leading-edge logic and foundry. Cuts FY25 Revenue "low end" of +10-20% (prev. guided "mid-point" +10-20% Y/Y).


• Orsted +6.5%; US judge grants injunction enabling Orsted to resume construction on Rhode Island offshore wind project.


• Autos; Mercedes-Benz (+0.2%) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC; Volkswagen (+2%) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC


• Commerzbank -2.2%; downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette


• ABN AMRO +0.1% / KBC -0.5%; Bloomberg reports that KBC is exploring a potential deal for ABN AMRO, as it aims to expand across Europe.

US Equity Futures: ES U/C, NQ U/C, RTY -0.1%

• Futures are modestly mixed on either side of the unchanged mark, with the ES/NQ holding afloat whilst the RTY is incrementally lower.


• Tentative price action which follows on from strength seen in the prior session, where the NQ outperformed following NVIDIA’s decision to invest up to USD 100bln in OpenAI.


• Docket today includes US PMI figures, with both the Manufacturing and Services components expected to decline from the prior, but still remain in expansionary territory. Data aside, all focus will be on US President Trump who is set to speak at the UN General Assembly. There are also a number of Fed speakers today including; Goolsbee, Bowman, Bostic and Powell. Some desks are suggesting that he will largely stick to the comments provided at the post-policy press conference, but with a slight personal skew.

23 Sep 2025 - 10:20- ForexEU Research- Source: Newsquawk