Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 15th October 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks were mostly higher as expectations for incoming Fed rate cuts helped the region shrug off the mixed lead from Wall St and the latest salvo in the US-China trade spat, in which President Trump announced he is considering terminating business with China regarding cooking oil. ASX 200 climbed higher with the advances led by healthcare, materials and financials, with the latter helped by gains in Westpac after Australian regulator APRA removed the remaining AUD 500mln capital add-on applied to Westpac. Nikkei 225 reclaimed the 47,000 status with the index unfazed by a firmer currency and political uncertainty in Japan. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the positive sentiment in the region, but with gains severely limited in the mainland following the recent mixed messages by the US regarding the trade dispute with China, while participants also digested the latest inflation data from China, which showed CPI was softer-than-expected, and that both consumer and factory gate prices remained in deflation.

Chinese Inflation - Chinese CPI YY (Sep) -0.3% vs. Exp. -0.2% (Prev. -0.4%), Chinese CPI MM (Sep) 0.1% vs. Exp. 0.2% (Prev. 0.0%), Chinese PPI YY (Sep) -2.3% vs. Exp. -2.3% (Prev. -2.9%). (Newswires)

Chinese Airlines - Major Chinese airlines, including Air China, China Eastern and China Southern, urged the Trump administration to drop plans to bar them from flying over Russia on US routes, warning of longer flight times and higher costs. The US says current access gives Chinese carriers an unfair advantage over American rivals.

Foxconn (2317 TT) - Co's bid for stake in unit of Germany's ZF Group stalls, according to Reuters sources. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.16% at 5,559, Dax 40 -0.64% at 24,232, FTSE 100 +0.10% at 9,453, CAC 40 -0.18% at 7,920, FTSE MIB -0.22% at 42,076, IBEX 35 +0.29% at 15,586, PSI +0.02% at 8,228, SMI -0.43% at 12,431, AEX -0.25% at 949.

SECTORS: IT 0.56%, Utilities 0.56%, Financials 0.18%, Telecoms 0.14%, Consumer Stpl 0.03%, Materials -0.63%, Energy -0.69%, Industrials -0.79%, Healthcare -0.92%, Consumer Disc -1.13%

FTSE 100

GSK (GSK LN) - GSK received US FDA NDA supplemental 68, 69 approvals for Lamictal. (Newswires)

Ocado (OCDO LN) - Sky News reports that the Co. is looking to boost its declining share price, by beginning a strategic shake-up; a move which would include the appointment of a new Chief Revenue Officer. (Sky News)

UK Stocks - BoE Governor Bailey says UK businesses tell him they are delaying investments decisions due to uncertainty and not seeing a lot of impact yet on prices from tariffs. (Newswires)

UK Cash ISAs - UK Chancellor Reeves revives plans to overhaul cash ISAs with Reeves mulling halving the annual tax-free savings allowance to encourage wider investment in the UK stock market, according to FT.

Unilever (ULVR LN) - Announces sale of Kate Somerville to Rare Beauty Brands; exp. to close Q4'25, pending approvals. (Unilever)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Antofagasta (ANTO LN) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Peel Hunt

Legal & General (LGEN LN) initiated with Add at Peel Hunt

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

BMW (BMW GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies

BASF (BAS GY) initiated with a Buy at Citi

Gerresheimer (GXI GY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) / Air Lease (AL) - Air Lease announced long-term leases with Magnifica Air for six new Airbus aircraft, comprising four A220-300s and two A321-200neos, scheduled for delivery in 2027. (Airbus)

Bouygues Telecom (EN FP), Orange (OR FP) - Bouygues Telecom, Free-Iliad Group and Orange submit a joint non-binding offer to acquire a large part of Altice's activities in France. Offer covers most of SFR's assets but excludes stakes in Intelicia, Ultraedge, XP Fibre, and Altice Technical Services. Split of price and value expected to be around 43% for Bouygues Telecom, 30% for Free-Iliad Group, and 27% for Orange. The offer corresponds to the total enterprise value of EUR 17bln for the Altice Group assets concerned in France, indicative implied EV for the whole of Altice France of more than EUR 21bln. (Newswires/FT)

French Politics - French socialists will not vote for no-confidence motion, via BFM citing a lawmaker. (Newswires)

LVMH (MC FP) - (EUR): Q3 revenue 18.28bln (exp. 18.24bln), Fashion and leather goods revenue -2% to 8.5bln (exp. -4%), Perfumes and cosmetics revenue +2% to 1.96bln (exp. +2%). Wine and spirits revenue +1% to 1.33bln (exp. -3%). Watches and Jewellery revenue +2% to 2.32bln (exp. +1%) Selective retailing +7% to 3.99bln (exp. +5%). Co. said mainland China turned positive in Q3. Q3 Sales: US +3%, Asia-ex Japan +2%, Europe -2%. CFO says Q4 will be tougher due to comparative base; macro environment still challenging and pretty volatile; Chinese demand accelerated slightly beyond comp. base. Chinese locally now growing mid-to-high single digit. Sephora is growing "twice the market". Dior improved with all key nationalities. Louis Vuitton saw steep improvement in China. Tiffany had good quarter with acceleration in US in Q3. (LVMH) Weightings: 19.75% in Consumer Products (largest), 2.13% in Euro Stoxx 50, 1.02% in Stoxx 600. ; Price reaction: LVMH shares seen +9.2% on Tradegate; Hugo Boss +1.9% pre-market; LVMH US ADR rose around 8.8% in the prior session, following results;

Orange (ORA FP) - Co. to collaborate with LightOn, Edarat, and Nvidia to launch Live Intelligence, a generative AI platform designed for use in the Gulf Cooperation Council region. (Orange)

Rexel (RXL FP) - Q3 (EUR): Sales 4.758bln, confirms FY profitability and cash flow guidance, FY25 sales growth “slightly positive” compared to 2024. (Rexel)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Gecina (GFC FP) - Q3 (EUR): Gross Rental Income 539.2mln, +4% Y/Y. Affirms FY guidance. (Gecina)

Veolia (VIE FP) - Co. renews partnership with Holyoke to modernise wastewater operations with Hubgrade technology. (Veolia)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

ASML (ASML NA) - Q3 2025 (EUR): Revenue 7.516bln (exp. 7.790bln), Net 2.13bln (exp. 2.08bln), Net order bookings 5.4bln (exp. 5.36bln); guides Q4 revenue between 9.2bln to 9.8bln (exp. 9.23bln/9.48bln); does not expect FY26 total net sales to be below FY25. Other Details:Gross Margin 51.6% (exp. 51.4%). An interim dividend of EUR 1.60 per ordinary share will be made payable on November 6, 2025. Intend to announce a new share buyback program in January 2026. CEO Statement: "On the market side, we have seen continued positive momentum around investments in AI, and have also seen this extending to more customers, both in leading-edge Logic and advanced DRAM. On the other hand, we expect China customer demand, and therefore our China total net sales in 2026 to decline significantly compared to our very strong business there in 2024 and 2025." (globenewswire) Weightings: 29.8% in Tech (largest), 4.76% in Euro Stoxx 50 (2nd largest), 2.28% in STOXX 600 (2nd largest). ; Price Reaction: Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose from 5,618 to 5,629 before extending to 5,639 over the course of 20 minutes, following the report.

Italian Banks - Cabinet approves using resources worth up to EUR 4.5-5bln from its banks and insurers to help fund its 2026-2028 budget. (Newswires)

Spanish Stocks - US President Donald Trump said Spain should “be punished” for opposing increased defense spending, suggesting he may levy tariffs on Spanish products as a form of trade punishment. (Newswires)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Co. is to invest USD 13bln to grow in the US with the Co. to expand US production by 50% and add 5000 jobs, plans five new vehicle launches and 19 product actions over the next four years. (Newswires)

SNAM (SRG IM) - Enagas is in talks to acquire a 32% stake in Terega. Snam is Terega’s leading shareholder, with a 40.5% stake. (Newswires)

US-China - US President Trump is considering terminating business with China having to do with cooking oil, and other elements of trade, as retribution for purposefully not buying US Soybeans. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Sulzer (SUN SW) - Affirms 2025 outlook; YTD outlook intake -1.2%, except for a few large projects delayed into 2026. (Sulzer)

BROKER MOVES

Swiss Re (SREN SW) downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC

SCANDINAVIA

Mowi (MOWI NO) - Q3 (EUR): Operational EBIT 112mln (exp. 109.8mln), harvest volumes reach all-time highs of 166k GWT. (Mowi)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.16% at 6,644, NDX -0.69% at 24,579, DJI +0.44% at 46,270, RUT +1.38% at 2,495

SECTORS: Technology -1.59%, Consumer Discretionary -0.26%, Energy -0.07%, Communication Services +0.23%, Health +0.27%, Materials +0.87%, Utilities +0.92%, Real Estate +1.06%, Financials +1.12%, Industrials +1.17%, Consumer Staples +1.72%.

Apple (AAPL) - China’s industry minister Li Lecheng met Apple CEO Tim Cook in Beijing, expressing hope Apple will continue expanding in China and reaffirming the country’s commitment to maintaining a favourable environment for foreign firms. Separately, Apple senior VP Greg Joswiak teased a new MacBook on X, posting a short video showing an opened laptop and stating "something powerful is coming"; The Verge’s said the teaser may point to an upcoming M5 MacBook. Elsewhere, Apple is expanding manufacturing in Vietnam to reduce reliance on China and enter the smart home market, planning new home devices for next year including indoor security cameras and a control display, with a more advanced tabletop robot using motors and sensors expected in 2027.

Amazon (AMZN) - Co. is preparing to cut as much as 15% of its human resources staff, with additional layoffs likely in other divisions, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans, according to sources cited by Fortune. (Fortune)

Citigroup (C) - CFO expects higher net interest income next year. (Newswires)

Intel (INTC) - Co. revealed a 160-GB, energy-efficient data center GPU that is part of a new annual GPU release cadence to deliver on the chipmaker’s new strategy of providing open systems and software architecture for AI systems, according to CRN. (CRN)

OpenAI - OpenAI makes five-year business plan to meet USD 1tln spending pledges, according to FT. (FT)

15 Oct 2025 - 06:58- EquitiesResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquwk