Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 10th June 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mostly higher with risk sentiment underpinned amid some optimism surrounding US-China talks which are set to resume on Tuesday and have been described so far by US officials as a 'good meeting' and "fruitful". ASX 200 gained on return from the long weekend with the advances led by outperformance in Consumer Discretionary, Financials, Energy and Tech, while further upside was capped amid mixed consumer and business sentiment surveys. Nikkei 225 initially outperformed as it coat-tailed on the recent upside in USD/JPY which was partially facilitated alongside comments from BoJ Governor Ueda who stated that the BoJ is keeping the real interest rate negative, so underlying inflation achieves 2% and keeps inflation sustainably and stably at 2%. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp kept afloat as the attention centred on US-China talks in London which are scheduled to extend for a second day.

China Autos - China's People’s Daily criticised the practice of "zero-mileage" used cars, where nearly new vehicles are sold as second-hand to meet sales targets. The paper warned this undercuts carmakers’ balance sheets and risks consumers losing proper rights, reflecting growing concern over intense market competition. (BBG)

TSMC (TSM / 2330 TT) - May (TWD): Revenue 320.52bln (prev. 349.6bln M/M), Monthly Sales +39.6% Y/Y (prev. +48.1%). (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: -0.54 % at 24,174, FTSE 100: -0.06 % at 8,832, CAC 40: -0.17 % at 7,791, Euro Stoxx 50: -0.17 % at 5,421, AEX: +0.23 % at 932, IBEX 35: +0.01 % at 14,249, FTSE MIB: -0.35 % at 40,462, PSI: -0.38 % at 7,426

SECTORS: Consumer Disc 0.25%, IT 0.24%, Materials 0.08%, Energy 0.07%, Consumer Stpl -0.10%, Financials -0.13%, Healthcare -0.19%, Utilities -0.27%, Industrials -0.36%, Telecoms -0.49%

FTSE 100

Diageo (DGE LN) - Co. is weighing up options for a potential sale of its stake in Indian cricket team Royal Challengers Bengaluru, according to Bloomberg citing sources. The sources added that the sale could be a partial or full sale of the club, and may seek a valuation of up to USD 2bln. No decision has been made yet, and the Co. may not go ahead with the sale. (Bloomberg)

WPP (WPP LN) - Co. cuts its 2025 global advertising revenue growth forecast to 6% (prev. 7.7%), citing US trade concerns. (Newswires) 

UK Spending - Barclays UK May Consumer Spending rose 1.0% Y/Y (prev. +4.5%); UK BRC Total Sales YY (May) 1.0% (Prev. 7.0%); BRC Retail Sales YY (May) 0.6% (Prev. 6.8%); A KPMG analyst writes that "while the sunshine continued, the pace of retail sales growth didn't in May. Early seasonal purchases were likely a factor, as was a dampening of some spending appetite as households reflected upon the recent combination of essential bill rises". (Newswires)

UK Energy - Britain is to invest GBP 14.2bln in Sizewell C Nuclear Power Plant. (Newswires)

UK Housing - UK Chancellor Reeves is planning a ‘housing bank’ to provide cheaper financing for builders and is considering a funding settlement of up to GBP 25bln for social housing in Wednesday’s spending review, according to FT. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Abrdn (ABDN LN) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

DAX

Deutsche Telekom (DTE GY) / T-Mobile (TMUS) - T-Mobile US CEO Sievert is set to step aside from the Co. within the next couple of years, before his current contract expires, according to Handelsblatt. A T-Mobile US spokesperson said, "we don’t comment on rumours or speculation", adding that he "loves his job". (Handelsblatt)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Michelin (ML FP) - Co. to close plant in Queretaro, Mexico. (Newswires)

Saint Gobain (SGO FP) - Co. agrees with Teamsters a new 3-year agreement which includes up to a 15% wage increase over the life of contract. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Trade - US Treasury Secretary Bessent said it was a 'good meeting' with China, Commerce Secretary Lutnick said talks were "fruitful". (Newswires)

Postal Names - FedEx (FDX) raises quarterly dividend 5% to USD 1.45/shr (prev. 1.38). (Newswires)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Co. offers voluntary redundancy scheme for 610 workers at its Turin plant. (Newswires)

Vaccine Names - US HHS Secretary RFK says the HHS is moving to restore public trust in vaccines; HHS is totally reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP). (Newswires)

WPP (WPP LN) / Publicis (PUB FP) - FTC is seeking information from ad agencies as part of its investigation into whether ad companies violated anti-trust laws by coordinating boycotts of certain sites, according to the WSJ. (WSJ)

BROKER MOVES

Bankinter (BKT SM) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

Caixabank (CABK SM) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

Umicore (UMI BB) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs; GS sees improving earnings momentum on the back of higher metals prices

SMI

SGS (SGSN SW) - Acquired EcoLoss in Europe. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

SoftwareOne (SWON SW) - Co. to close Crayon transaction on 2 July 2025. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Holcim (HOLN SW) upgraded to Overweight from Underweight at Barclays

SCANDINAVIA

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - Activist hedge fund Parvus Asset Management is building a stake in Novo Nordisk, via FT. The hedge fund reportedly wants to influence the appointment of Novo Nordisk's new chief. (FT)

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Won a USD 240mln contract in the US. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.09% at 6,006, NDX +0.17% at 21,798, DJI unch. at 42,762, RUT +0.57% at 2,144.

SECTORS: Consumer Discretionary +1.08%, Materials +0.62%, Technology +0.25%, Energy +0.22%, Communication Services +0.14%, Real Estate -0.07%, Industrials -0.09%, Health -0.16%, Consumer Staples -0.24%, Financials -0.55%, Utilities -0.66%.

APAC Retail Investors - Retail investors across Asia are retreating from US stocks after previously buying the dip during last April’s tariff-driven slump, Bloomberg reports. South Korean investors turned net sellers of US equities in May for the first time since before Trump’s 2016 election, Japanese accounts sold US ETFs, and Singapore traders’ US stock purchases fell 25% M/M.

Salesforce (CRM) - Oppenheimer maintains an Outperform rating on Salesforce, with a USD 370 price target after meetings with management. The firm highlights strong demand across products, AI platform capabilities, and momentum in early sales funnel stages. Despite near-term overhangs, Oppenheimer remains long-term positive on Salesforce’s AI positioning.

Tesla (TSLA) - Tesla shares rose before the US close on Monday after US President Trump struck a conciliatory tone toward Elon Musk, calling Starlink a "great service" and stating that he wishes Musk "very well," following a public feud over the EV mandate and government contracts that led to threats and denials from both sides.

10 Jun 2025 - 06:48- MetalsRumour- Source: Newsquawk