Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 13th May 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mostly higher following the rally on Wall St owing to the US-China trade war de-escalation after both sides agreed to cut tariffs by 115ppts for an initial period of 90 days, although some of the gains were capped as the euphoria began to moderate. ASX 200 edged higher amid outperformance in tech and energy but with further advances contained by weakness in defensives and gold miners. Nikkei 225 rallied to above the 38,000 level following the cooling in US-China trade tensions but with the index off intraday highs amid some profit-taking and a slight pullback in USD/JPY, while BoJ rhetoric continued to signal future hikes if prices and the economy improved. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp lagged despite the de-escalation in the US-China trade war which the Hong Kong benchmark already had its opportunity to react to yesterday, while questions lingered on what will happen during the 90-day reprieve as the trade deficit remains and the current 30% tariff on Chinese goods still a relatively high level.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.22 % at 23,552, FTSE 100: +0.59 % at 8,605, CAC 40: +1.37 % at 7,850, Euro Stoxx 50: +1.58 % at 5,393, AEX: +1.80 % at 922, IBEX 35: +0.56 % at 13,630, FTSE MIB: +1.40 % at 39,922, SMI: +1.37 % at 12,229, PSI: +1.76 % at 7,111

SECTORS: IT 3.77%, Consumer Disc 3.72%, Energy 2.30%, Materials 1.84%, Industrials 1.49%, Financials 1.34%, Healthcare 0.61%, Consumer Stpl -0.69%, Telecoms -1.17%, Utilities -1.53%

FTSE 100

UK Barclaycard - Barclaycard UK April Consumer Spending rose 4.5% Y/Y which was the biggest increase since June 2023. UK BRC Retail Sales YY (Apr) 6.8% (Prev. 0.9%); BRC April Total Retail Sales 7.0% (Prev. 1.1%); Notes that clothing sales picked up as the sunniest April in the UK since records began. (Newswires)

UK Economy - City AM writes that the UK could receive a GBP 50bln cash injection after the UK's biggest pensions funds pledged to allocate at 10% of all defined contribution funds into private markets by 2030; 5% will go to UK private markets. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Bayer (BAYN GY) - Q1 (EUR): Sales 13.74bln (exp. 13.52bln), Adj. EBITDA Margin 29.7% (exp. 28.5%), Core EPS 2.49 (exp. 2.34). Affirms guidance. Sees 2025 Pharma sales and Adj. EBITDA margin at upper-end. (Newswires)

Hannover Re (HNR1 GY) - Q1 (EUR): EBIT 696mln (exp. 819mln), Net Income 480mln (exp. 552mln, prev. 558mln Y/Y). Confirms 2025 guidance despite costly large losses. (Newswires)

Munich Re (MUV2 GY) - Q1 (EUR): Profit 1.09bln (exp. 906.3mln), EPS 8.34 (exp. 8.35). 48% drop in profit due to LA wildfire claims. Reaffirmed 2025 results. (Newswires)

Qiagen (QIA GY) - Qiagen agreed to acquire Genoox for USD 70mln in cash, plus up to USD 10mln in milestones, adding a cloud-based genomics platform, which is expected to contribute USD 5mln in 2025 sales with neutral impact on adj. EPS. (Newswires)

Vonovia (VNA GY) - Files to sell EUR 1.3bln in convertible notes due 2030 and 2032. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Carl Zeiss Meditec (AFX GY) - H1 (EUR): Revenue 1.05bln. Expects moderate rev. growth for remainder of the year. (Newswires)

Deutsche Wohnen (DWNI GY) - Q1 (EUR): Adj. EBT 187.6mln. Notes of positive performance in Q1 and affirms FY guidance. (Newswires)

Fraport (FRA GY) - Q1 (EUR): EBITDA 177.5mln (exp. 188.8mln), Revenue 868.5mln (exp. 866mln). Affirms guidance. (Newswires)

K+S (SDF GY) - Q1 (EUR): EBITDA 201mln (exp. 180mln), Revenue 965mln (exp. 945mln). Raises FY25 EBITDA 560-640mln (prev. guided 500-620mln). (Newswires)

LEG Immobilien (LEG GY) - Q1 (EUR): Adj. EBITDA 173.4mln (prev. 157.4mln Y/Y). Confirms outlook. (Newswires)

Sixt (SIX2 GY) - Q1 (EUR): EBITDA 217.8mln, Sales 858.1mln. Confirms FY guidance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - China has lifted its month-long ban on Boeing aircraft deliveries following a breakthrough in US-China trade talks that temporarily reduced tariffs, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Saint Gobain (SGO FP) initiated with Sector Perform at RBC

Schneider Electric (SU FP) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

PAN EUROPE

Trade - White House Executive Order says US will cut the minimum tariff on China shipments from 120% to 54%, and a minimum flat fee of USD 100 is to remain

Grifols (GRF SM) - Q1 2025 (USD): Revenue 1.79bln (exp. 1.80bln), Adj. EBITDA 400mln (exp. 385.2mln), Net income 60mln; affirms guidance. (Newswires)

Sabadell (SAB SM) - Banco Sabadell has approached Unicaja Banco's key shareholders to discuss a potential deal, aiming to avert a hostile takeover by BBVA, Bloomberg reports. The informal talks are still under consideration and may not lead to formal merger discussions, sources said. (Bloomberg)

Telefonica (TEF SM) - Telefonica SA has hired Citigroup to manage the sale of its Chilean unit, Telefonica Chile, after facing multiple quarters of losses. The company is also working with Rothschild and Santander to divest from other Spanish-speaking Latin American markets. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

ABB (ABBN SW) - ABB is considering selling its robotics unit, potentially valued over USD 3.5bln, as an alternative to the planned spinoff, Bloomberg reports. The Swiss industrial company is close to appointing advisers for both the sale and listing, the report adds. (Bloomberg)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

PSP Swiss Property (PSPN SW) - Q1 (CHF): EPS 1.32 (prev. 1.77 Y/Y). Affirms guidance (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Sika (SIKA SW) initiated with Outperform at RBC

SCANDINAVIA

Equinor (EQNR NO) - Co. will be forced to terminate Empire Wind project if it cannot reach a solution with a stop-work order issued by the Trump administration. (Newswires)

SBB (SBBB SS) - To sell 164.4mln shares to TRG/Aker Property Group for 39.8mln PPI shares. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +3.26% at 5,844, NDX +4.02% at 20,868, DJI +2.81% at 42,410, RUT +3.42% at 2,092.

SECTORS: Consumer Discretionary +5.66%, Technology +4.66%, Communication Services +3.35%, Industrials +3.06%, Energy +2.47%, Health +2.43%, Financials +2.03%, Materials +1.90%, Consumer Staples +0.07%, Real Estate +0.04%, Utilities -0.68%.

Alphabet (GOOGL) - Google is reportedly developing a software-based AI agent and a Pinterest-like feature ahead of its I/O developer conference, The Information reports. Separately, an article in Bloomberg states that Google is facing at least EUR 12bln in damage claims from EU price comparison websites over allegations it harmed competition by prioritising its own shopping service; these suits stem from a 2017 European Commission ruling, which found Google guilty of antitrust violations. (The Information)

Boeing (BA) - China has lifted its month-long ban on Boeing aircraft deliveries following a breakthrough in US-China trade talks that temporarily reduced tariffs, Bloomberg reports. Officials in Beijing informed domestic airlines and agencies this week that they can now resume taking delivery of US-made planes, with flexibility on timing and terms. (Bloomberg)

Defence Contractors - The State Department approved approximately USD 1.4bln in arms sales to the UAE, including six CH-47F Chinook helicopters (BA) for USD 1.32bln, and F-16 warplane (GD) maintenance parts worth USD 130mln. The approval comes ahead of President Trump’s Middle East visit. (Newswires)

EV Credits, Clean Energy Credits - House Republicans are proposing to eliminate tax credits for electric vehicles and phase out clean-energy incentives as part of funding President Trump's tax cuts. These provisions, part of Biden's climate law, have been targeted by lawmakers looking to reduce costs while Trump criticises them as part of the "green new scam." (Newswires)

FedEx (FDX), Amazon (AMZN), UPS (UPS) - Amazon has signed a multi-year delivery deal with FedEx to cover capacity shortfalls after UPS announced plans to halve Amazon deliveries by end-2026. The agreement, reached in February, includes select large packages and offers Amazon cost advantages, Business Insider reports. FedEx said the deal will be a net positive for yields. (Business Insider)

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) - McDonald's is set to hire up to 375k workers in the US this summer, marking its largest recruitment drive in years, Bloomberg reports. The push aims to accommodate increasing customer demand and support the expansion of new locations, with positions not being seasonal or temporary. (Bloomberg)

Semiconductors - The White House is considering a major AI chip sale to UAE-based G42 despite prior concerns over its China ties, NYT reports. A previous deal involved Microsoft (MSFT) managing chips used by G42. Separately, the Trump administration is expected to approve AI chip access for Saudi Arabia’s Humain with support from Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD). (NYT)

S&P 500 (SPX) - Goldman Sachs raised its S&P 500 target to 6,500 (prev. 6,200), citing reduced trade tensions between the US and China, which have revived the “Buy America” trade. The new estimate suggests an 11% potential gain from the current level over the next 12 months.

13 May 2025 - 06:57- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk