EUROPEAN EQUITY UPDATE: Mixed trade with UK away on holiday; US futures subdued

STOXX 600: U/C

• European bourses opened mixed and have traded rangebound throughout the morning thus far.


• To recap the weekend’s trade updates; US President Trump said he is willing to lower tariffs on China at some point. Additionally, the President answered “no”, when asked if he plans to speak with Chinese President Xi this week.


• Docket thus far has been relatively light; EZ Sentix Index printed above the most optimistic on analyst expectations. The accompanying release highlighted that "one month after the massive shock that rocked investors with US tariff policy and sent sentix economic data into free fall, the smoke is clearing".


• The FTSE 100 remains shut on account of the Early May Bank Holiday.

Sectors: Positive

• European sectors hold a slight positive bias, with Insurance and Healthcare leading whilst Energy is the clear laggard.


• To break down the above; Healthcare is buoyed by strength in Novo Nordisk (+2.1%) after the FDA accepted the Co’s application for oral Semaglutide 25mg, which if approved, would be the first oral GLP-1 treatment for obesity. Elsewhere, Roche (+0.6%) gains after it filed a patent application for bicyclic Tetrahydrothiazepine derivatives.


• Energy is by far the clear laggard today, given the slump in oil prices after OPEC+ decided to increase oil output, while other sources suggest the group could opt for a similar hike in July. Elsewhere, Shell Plc is evaluating a potential acquisition of BP – though talks are still at an early stage. Shell is reportedly waiting for further declines in stock and oil prices before deciding whether to proceed with a bid.


• Shell’s Dutch listing is currently lower by around 2.5% whilst BP’s ADR in the US is indicated to open higher by around 1.9% (UK on holiday).


• For Autos more broadly, US President Trump’s 25% tariffs on engines, transmissions and other key auto parts took effect on Saturday. Elsewhere, The Guardian writes that BMW (+0.3%) has ended 180 agency staff contracts at its Mini factory in the UK, amid global economic uncertainty.

US Equity Futures: ES -0.6%, NQ -0.7%, RTY -0.9%

• Futures are broadly in negative territory after a strong session on Friday; the RTY underperforms vs peers.


• In terms of stock specifics, Berkshire Hathaway (-2.5%) moves lower in the pre-market after the Co. fell short on Q1 headline metrics due to California wildfires and FX-driven headwinds – pressure will also stem from Warren Buffett stepping down from his CEO position at the end of the year.


• The US day sees the release of the final S&P Global composite and services PMI data for April, ahead of the release of the widely followed ISM Services report, where the headline is seen paring to 50.2 from 50.8. US Employment trends data for April are also due.

05 May 2025 - 09:50- ForexData- Source: Newsquawk