EUROPEAN EQUITY UPDATE: Mixed and choppy trade; FTSE 100 pinned down by weak Q3 GDP data amid political uncertainty

STOXX 600: +0.1%

• European equities opened mixed and have traded choppily through the morning, with downside led by the DAX (-0.3%) and FTSE 100 (-0.3%). Softer UK Q3 GDP and manufacturing output data weighed on sentiment, compounding political uncertainty surrounding PM Starmer’s leadership and pressuring the FTSE 100.


• Elsewhere, macro drivers have been limited, though the session featured a busy corporate slate with earnings from major names including Deutsche Telekom, Siemens, Flutter, and Rolls-Royce, among others.


• Looking ahead, attention turns to central bank speakers: ECB’s Elderson, Buch, Machado, and Donnery (supervisory), alongside BoE’s Greene and SNB’s Tschudin and Moser.

Sectors: Mixed

• European sectors opened broadly mixed, led by Technology (+0.8%), Chemicals (+0.7%), and Insurance (+0.7%). Gains in Prosus (+3.0%) following Tencent’s earnings provided a notable lift to the Tech space, while upside in Insurance and Chemicals came amid light sector-specific newsflow.


• On the downside, laggards include Financial Services (-1.5%), Energy (-0.5%), and Automobiles & Parts (-0.5%). Energy underperformed as crude prices softened on constructive Russia–Ukraine rhetoric and mixed private inventory data, while BP (-1.6%) and Shell (-1.1%) trade ex-div today. Financial Services were weighed by a sharp 11.5% decline in 3i post-interims, while Autos saw modest pullbacks after finishing near the top of yesterday’s leaderboard.

Movers

• Wizz Air (+13.4%) – H1 (EUR): Operating profit 439.2mln (exp. 367mln). Net profit 323.5mln (prev. 315.2mln Y/Y). Forecast a low-single-digit decline in full-year revenue and said winter capacity was a "short-term challenge. Expects 10% capacity growth Y/Y in FY26 (prev. forecast 20%).


• Merck (+6,5%) – Q3 (EUR): Adj. EPS 2.32, +0.9% Y/Y; net sales 5.3bln, +1.0% Y/Y, confirms FY25 guidance with EBITDA guided to 6.0-6.2bln.


• Flutter (-2.5%) - Q3 2025 (USD): adj. EPS 1.64 (exp. 0.68), revenue USD 3.79bln (exp. 3.86bln). CEO cited continued US and International momentum. Flutter cut FY25 guidance after customer-friendly sports results were hit Q3, with net loss widening on impairments and Boyd payment: group revenue now expected at USD 16.69bln, with adj. EBITDA 2.915bln, down USD 570mln and USD 380mln from prior but still implying 19% and 24% Y/Y growth.


• Siemens (-4.5%) – Q4 (EUR): Revenue 21.43bln (exp. 21.43bln), net income 1.84bln (exp. 2.18bln), proposes a dividend of 5.35/shr (prev. 5.20/shr in 2024). For FY26, expects comparable revenue growth of 6-8%, basic EPS of 10.40-11.00.

US Equity Futures

• US equity futures trade mostly lower, with ES -0.1%, NQ -0.2%, and RTY -0.2%, while the YM sits flat. Overnight, President Trump signed the government funding bill to officially end the shutdown, though the move failed to lift sentiment as the outcome was largely anticipated, although traders look ahead to a potential shutdown at the end of January.


• Broader uncertainty lingers amid reports that October’s jobs and CPI data may not be released, with the White House citing the shutdown’s disruption to the BLS and other statistical agencies.


• Looking ahead, today’s Fed speaker lineup features Musalem (2025 voter; no text expected), Kashkari (2026 voter; no text expected), Hammack (2026 voter; no text expected), and Daly (2027 voter; text and Q&A expected).

13 Nov 2025 - 10:10- Fixed IncomeData- Source: Newsquawk