Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 14th March 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks were mostly positive as risk sentiment gradually improved following the negative lead from Wall St where the S&P 500 slipped into a technical correction amid tariff concerns after President Trump threatened 200% tariffs on EU wine and champagne. ASX 200 gained as strength in mining, materials, resources and utilities atoned for the losses seen in the energy, financials and tech industries. Nikkei 225 staggered at the open with pressure from recent currency strength but then recovered soon after as the yen steadily pared its recent gains. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp advanced with the Hang Seng resuming the outperformance which has helped the index notch gains of around 22% so far this year, while the PBoC reiterated support pledges and stated that it will lower rates and the RRR at a 'proper time', keep liquidity ample and guide social financing costs lower.

Foxconn (2317 TW) - Q4 (TWD): Revenue 2.13tln (exp. 2.09tln), Net 46.3bln (exp. 54.4bln), Operating 64.5bln (exp. 61.8bln). Q1 Guidance: Revenue to grow Y/Y. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: -0.63% at 22,533, FTSE 100: +0.02% at 8,543, CAC 40: -0.64% at 7,938, Euro Stoxx 50: -0.51% at 5,332, AEX: -0.14% at 898, IBEX 35: +0.14% at 12,821, FTSE MIB: -0.80% at 38,000, SMI: -0.24% at 12,837, PSI: -0.61% at 6,722

SECTORS: Telecoms 1.16%, Energy 0.96%, Utilities 0.73%, Healthcare 0.37%, Materials -0.01%, Consumer Stpl -0.06%, Financials -0.33%, Consumer Disc -0.82%, Industrials -0.83%, IT -1.29%

FTSE 100

BAE Systems (BA/ LN) - BAE Systems received a USD 356.7mln modification to its contract for armored multi-purpose vehicles for the US Army.

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Canal+ (CAN LN) initiated with Buy at Deutsche Bank

Hays (HAS LN) upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at BNP Paribas

RS1 (RS1 LN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

DAX

Allianz (ALV GY) - Consortium to take over Viridium in EUR 3.5bln deal, according to Reuters citing sources. Viridium sale to be finalised next week. Consortium includes BlackRock (BLK), T&D (8795 JT), and Generali (G IM). Follows similar reporting from last week.

BMW (BMW GY) - FY (EUR): Revenue 142.4bln (exp. 147.38bln), -8.4% Y/Y, EBIT 7.89bln (exp. 12.06bln), -39.2% Y/Y; expects slight sales growth in 2025, share of all EVs to decrease slightly; cuts div/shr to 4.30 (prev. 6). Q4: EBIT 1.88bln (exp. 2.67bn), Revenue 36.4bln (exp. 41.2bln), Automotive Revenue 34.05bln (exp. 35.95bln). 2025: Auto EBIT Margin of 5-7% (exp. 6.65%). Expects EBIT at prior level. (Newswires)

Daimler Truck (DTG GY) - FY (EUR): Revenue 54.1bln (exp. 53.6bln), Adj. EBIT 4.67bln (exp. 4.6bln, prev. 5.5bln Y/Y); proposed dividend 1.9 (prev. 1.9 Y/Y). Q4: Revenue 14.35bln (exp. 13.78bln). 2025 Outlook: Revenue 52-54bln. Expects an operationally stable 2025 compared to 2024. (Newswires) Shares +2.2% in pre-market trade

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Kering (KER FP) - Co. appoints Demna as Gucci's artistic director. (Newswires)

TotalEnergies (TTE FP) - US President Trump’s administration unlocked a USD 4.7bln loan for TotalEnergies that was frozen since 2021 and which is for a LNG project in Mozambique, according to FT. (FT)

UbiSoft (UBI FP) - Ubisoft announced that "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X" will launch on June 10th as a free update. The update introduces Dual Front, a new 6v6 mode with a rotating roster of 35 operators, new maps, and enhanced visuals. A closed beta is available through March 19th.

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Alstom (ALO FP) - New contract with SJ for night maintenance. (Newswires)

Rubis (RUI FP) - FY (EUR): Revenue 6.64bln (exp. 6.77bln). 2025: Sees EBITDA 710-760mln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Schneider Electric (SU FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at DZ Bank

PAN EUROPE

Defence - NATO SecGen Rutte says Europe committing to much higher defense spending; need to produce more weapons and not doing enough; lagging behind Russians and Chinese. (Newswires)

Russia/Ukraine - US President Trump says Witkoff in serious discussions in Russia; hopefully should have an idea how we're doing. Ukrainian President Zelensky says Russia President Putin is preparing a rejection of ceasefire proposal, but is scared to say this directly to US President Trump. Need to impose sanctions that put pressure on Russia and we will continue to work with our partners to force it to end the war. Russia is setting conditions on ceasefire to try to delay it or make it not happen. (Newswires)

Trade - US President Trump says not going to change mind on April 2nd tariffs; won't bend on Canada metals or April 2nd tariffs and don't need Canada's cars, energy or lumber. Ontario Premier says had a productive meeting with US Commerce Secretary Lutnick and will have another meeting next week, adds feel temperatures are decreasing and it was the best meeting they had since tariff talks began. (Newswires)

Anima (ANIM IM) / Banco BPM (BAMI IM) - Anime says the board believed the EUR 7/shr price offered by Banco BPM is fair. (Newswires)

Beauty / Beiersdorf (BEI GY) / L'Oreal (OR FP) - Ulta (ULTA) shares rose 6.5% in afterhours trading following a Q4 beat, though it provided a cautious annual outlook amid potential trade policy impacts. details in the US section below

Brunello Cucinelli (BCU IM) - FY24 (EUR): Revenue 1.28bln (exp. 1.28bln), Net Income 119mln (exp. 125.7mln), EBITDA 364.7mln (exp. 365.3mln); proposes dividend of 0.94/shr. Earnings call: Guidance for 2025 and 2026 anticipates balanced and sustainable rev. growth of approx. 10% per year, reflecting cautious optimism for new term prospects. (Newswires)

Enel (ENEL IM) - FY24 (EUR): Revenue 78.947bln (exp. 87.698bln), Adj. Net Income 7.135bln (exp. 6.98bln). Sees 2027 net ordinary income in range of EUR 7.1-7.5bln. (Newswires)

UniCredit (UCG IM) - Received ECB approval to issue new shares to finance Banco BPM (BAMI IM) bid. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Swiss Life (SLHN SW) - FY24 (CHF): Adj. Net Income 1.78bln (prev. 1.50bln Y/Y), Fee Income 2.49bln (prev. 2.40bln Y/Y); raises dividend from CHF 33 (prev. 35). Reiterates 2027 targets. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Kesko (KESKOB FH) - Feb (EUR): Revenue 906mln, -1.8% Y/Y. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Carlsberg (CARLB DC) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

US

Apple (AAPL) - UK and US officials are in talks over concerns that Britain is pressuring Apple to weaken encryption, Bloomberg reports. Apple removed its most secure cloud encryption in the UK after a January order requiring access for national security investigations. The talks aim to address fears about potential access to Americans’ encrypted data.

Boeing (BA), American Airlines (AAL) - An American Airlines Boeing 737-800 caught fire after landing in Denver due to an engine fault, Sky News reports. All 178 people on board were evacuated safely, but 12 sustained minor injuries. The FAA is investigating. The aircraft, 13 years old, experienced engine vibrations before diverting from its Colorado Springs–Dallas route.

DocuSign (DOCU) - Shares rose 12% afterhours following Q4 sales and profit beats, and better than expected margins. Q4 adj. EPS 0.86 (exp. 0.85), Q4 revenue USD 776mln (exp. 760.07mln). Q4 adj. gross margin 82.3% (exp. 81.6%), Q4 FCF USD 279.6mln (exp. 235.6mln). Q4 subscription revenue USD 757.8mln (exp. 743.3mln), professional services and other revenue USD 18.5mln (exp. 17.2mln). Sees Q1 revenue between USD 745-749mln (exp. 757.2mln); sees FY26 revenue between USD 3.13-3.14bln (exp. 3.15bln), FY26 subscription revenue of USD 3.06-3.07bln (exp. 3.07bln), and FY26 billings between USD 3.30-3.35bln (exp. 3.22bln).

Tesla (TSLA) - Co. plans to develop a Model Y variant that costs at least 20% less to produce compared to the refreshed version. Plans to produce a lower-cost version of its Model Y in Shanghai starting from 2026 with the Shanghai built model to be sold mainly in China. Tesla will also produce a lower-cost Model Y in Europe and North America. (Newswires)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) - Shares rose 6.5% in afterhours trading following a Q4 beat, though it provided a cautious annual outlook amid potential trade policy impacts. Q4 EPS 8.46 (exp. 7.09), Q4 revenue USD 3.49bln (exp. 3.45bln); Q4 comp sales +1.5% (exp. +0.8%); Q4 gross margin 38.2% (exp. 37.2%). Sees FY EPS between USD 22.50-22.90 (exp. 23.46), and sees FY revenue between USD 11.5-11.6bln (exp. 11.67bln), with FY comp sales growth of 0-1%, and an FY operating margin between 11.7-11.8%.

14 Mar 2025 - 06:55- MetalsGeopolitical- Source: Newsquawk