Newsquawk Daily European Equities Opening News - 27th June 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mostly firmer for a bulk of the session following gains on Wall Street amid expectations of a future Fed Chair more aligned with the President. Sentiment was further supported after US President Trump announced he had signed a deal with China on Wednesday. Although initial reports were unclear and caused some confusion, White House officials later clarified that the signing finalised what had previously been agreed upon in Geneva and London. China has not yet confirmed the signing of the deal. APAC stocks later waned off best levels to trade mixed. ASX 200 was supported by the broader mood, with the rise in copper keeping miners propped up before paring back. Nikkei 225 outperformed across the region, buoyed by recent JPY weakness and a softer-than-expected Tokyo Core CPI reading, which could temper some of the recent hawkish rhetoric from BoJ’s Tamura. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp opened with modest gains, drawing some support from US President Trump’s announcement of a signed deal with China. It was later clarified the deal finalised prior agreements made in Geneva and London, though China has yet to confirm the signing. Chinese bourses later turned flat.

China Copper - Chile’s Antofagasta agreed with some Chinese copper smelters to a record low zero processing fee per metric ton and per pound, down from USD 21.25/ton and 0.02125/pound in 2025 benchmarks. Reuters said it benefits smelters amid concentrate shortages, but may deepen losses and pressure production cuts in China.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.56 % at 23,630, FTSE 100: +0.19 % at 8,736, CAC 40: -0.01 % at 7,557, Euro Stoxx 50: -0.17 % at 5,243, AEX: -0.78 % at 911, IBEX 35: +0.03 % at 13,816, FTSE MIB: +0.08 % at 39,351, SMI: +0.04 % at 11,885.

SECTORS: Materials 1.28%, Industrials 1.02%, Energy 0.55%, Utilities 0.45%, Telecoms 0.31%, Financials -0.07%, Healthcare -0.09%, Consumer Stpl -0.85%, Consumer Disc -0.88%, IT -0.99%

FTSE 100

Centrica (CNA LN) - Centrica is set to take a 15% stake in Sizewell C nuclear project, according to the FT; all parties are looking to reach an agreement before July 21. (FT)

Unilever (ULVR LN) - Unilever will acquire men’s grooming brand Dr Squatch from Summit Partners for USD 1.5bln, according to the FT, citing sources. The deal, previously announced without terms, adds to Unilever’s men’s care portfolio including Axe and Dove Men+Care, and is aimed at scaling Dr Squatch internationally. Summit had earlier sought over USD 2bln. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Babcock (BAB LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

Pearson (PSON LN) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

DAX

Adidas (ADS GY) / Puma (PUM GY) - Both companies are seen higher by 2.4-2.7% in pre-market trade following strong Q4 Nike earnings. Sees US section below for details

Qiagen (QIA GY) - Elects Stephen Rusckowski as Chair of Supervisory Board. (Newswires)

Siemens Energy (ENR GY) - CFO, asked on possible sale of onshore wind business, says portfolio stays together in expectation of double-digit profit margin. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Evonik (EVK GY) - Expands production capacity of Polybutadiene products to enhance supply security in Asia. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Knorr Bremse (KBX GY) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan

CAC

Amundi (AMUN FP) - Italian unions say they have reached accord with local subsidiary of Amundi over 50 redundancies. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

EU Trade - European Commission President von der Leyen told EU leaders that the EU executive received the latest counterproposal from the Trump administration today, according to two EU diplomats cited by POLITICO. This marks the latest engagement between Brussels and Washington, as the EU is coming to terms with potentially having to accept an agreement that still includes a “reciprocal”. (POLITICO); EU reportedly considers lowering tariffs on US imports in a bid to woo US President Trump, via WSJ citing sources. (WSJ)

dsm firmenich (DSFIR NA) - Co. increases share repurchase program by EUR 500mln. (Newswires)

IMCD (IMCD NA) - Announces acquisition of Trichem Healthcare; no terms. (Newswires)

Mediobanca (MB IM) - 2028: Sees Revenue above EUR 4.4bln; Net Profit 1.9bln, EPS 2.40. Sees shareholder remuneration of EUR 4.9bln over three years. (Newswires)

UCB (UCB BB) - UCB announces positive results from GEMZ phase 3 study of fenfluramine in CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder. (UCB)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Givaudan (GIVN SW) - Givaudan will acquire a majority stake in Vollmens Fragrances; terms undisclosed. The deal will be funded via existing resources, and is expected to close in H2 2025. Both Givaudan and Vollmens’ founding family have options to increase Givaudan’s shareholding in the future. (Newswires)

Sika (SIKA SW) - Acquired Gulf Additive in Qatar; no terms. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

FLSmitdth (FLS DC) - CEO Keto sold 20k shares for a total consideration of DKK 7.9mln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.85% at 6,144, NDX +0.94% at 22,447, DJI +0.94% at 43,387, RUT +1.60% at 2,170

SECTORS: Communication Services +1.73%, Energy +1.52%, Consumer Discretionary +1.21%, Materials +1.12%, Industrials +1.12%, Utilities +0.85%, Financials +0.79%, Technology +0.70%, Health +0.25%, Consumer Staples -0.16%, Real Estate -0.61%.

Nike (NKE) - Nike's shares rose by over 10% in extended trading after its Q4 results signalled that the sales slump is bottoming out, and CEO's turnaround strategy gained investor support following an upbeat earnings call, reversing some of the stock’s recent declines. It reported Q4 EPS of 0.14 (exp. 0.12), Q4 revenue of USD 11.097bln (exp. 10.66bln); Q4 net income was USD 211mln (exp. 185.9mln), Q4 pretax profit came in at USD 318mln (exp. 233.5mln). Gross margins fell by 440bps in Q4 to 40.3%; Direct revenue was down 14%, wholesale was down 9%. It reported Q4 inventory of USD 7.49bln (exp. 7.17bln). Exec said Q4 reflected largest financial impact for its 'Win Now' actions, and expects headwinds to moderate from here. CEO said the sportswear industry remains affected by geopolitical and tariff uncertainty. Nike expects tariffs to raise costs by about USD 1bln, and Q1 gross margins will fall 350-425bps, including a 100bps tariff impact for the sportswear maker. Q1 revenue is projected to decline by mid-single digits. CFO added share buybacks have been moderated and cost reductions may be evaluated. (Newswires)

27 Jun 2025 - 06:55- Geopolitical- Source: Newsquawk