Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 16th July 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks were mostly subdued following the lacklustre handover from Wall St owing to an acceleration in US CPI data, while trade uncertainty lingered after President Trump suggested pharma tariffs could begin at month-end and tariff letters for smaller countries could be sent out soon. ASX 200 retreated with nearly all sectors in the red aside from tech and with miners not helped by the indecisive performance in Rio Tinto following its quarterly operations update in which it registered higher iron ore production but a decline in shipments Y/Y. Nikkei 225 traded indecisively in which the index swung between gains and losses amid the lack of pertinent drivers for Japan and some political concerns ahead of Sunday's upper house election as a recent poll showed the ruling bloc was at risk of losing its majority. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed in the absence of any major fresh pertinent macro drivers and despite comments from China's Vice Premier He Lifeng who stated that China is accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system and is stepping up efforts to boost consumption.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.28% at 5,356, Dax 40 -0.32% at 24,084, FTSE 100 -0.66% at 8,938, CAC 40 -0.54% at 7,766, FTSE MIB -0.66% at 39,921, IBEX 35 -1.15% at 13,875, PSI +0.00% at 7,707, SMI -0.50% at 11,881, AEX +0.30% at 923.

SECTORS: IT 1.03%, Consumer Disc 0.01%, Industrials -0.12%, Energy -0.23%, Materials -0.24%, Utilities -0.47%, Telecoms -0.63%, Consumer Stpl -0.69%, Financials -0.69%, Healthcare -0.93%

FTSE 100

BT (BT/ LN) - Co. is back in court after allegedly "disproportionately" overcharging its landline customers, via City AM. The legal action is on behalf of over 500k customers, and if successful could total GBP 1.3bln. (City AM)

BAE Systems (BA/ LN) - Co. is confident it will win as many as 160 additional Typhoon jet orders due in to increased demand in Europe and Middle East, via Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Rolls-Royce (RR/ LN) - Rolls-Royce is investing USD 75mln to expand its Aiken, South Carolina engine plant for MTU Series 4000 production, adding 60 jobs to reach 434 full-time roles. It follows a USD 24mln expansion in Minnesota earlier this year adding 100 jobs, driven by growth in US data centres.

Rio Tinto (RIO AT) - Quarterly Pilbara iron ore output 83.7mln tons, +5% Y/Y, iron ore shipments 79.9mln tons, copper production 229k tons. Says: Copper production is now expected at the higher end, and copper unit costs around the lower end, of full-year guidance ranges. Simandou first shipment accelerated to around November 2025. Geopolitical tensions and trade barriers remain near-term economic risks. It also flagged around USD 300mln in gross costs from US tariffs on Canadian aluminium exports. (Newswires)

UK Listings - The UK Labour government will launch a listings taskforce with the Office for Investment to attract global IPOs to the London Stock Exchange, amid concern over declining listings, Chancellor Reeves said in her Mansion House speech.

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Assura (AGR LN) - Board recommends no action on Bidco offer. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

easyJet (EZJ LN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Oddo

Hiscox (HSX LN) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Fuchs (FPE3 GY) - H1 (EUR): Sales 1.80bln (exp. 927mln). FY Outlook: Sees EBIT 460mln (exp. 495mln). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

K+S (SDF GY) downgraded to Reduce from Add at Baader

CAC

Air Liquide (AI FP) - Invests to strengthen supply for the growing US semiconductor industry. Investment exceeds USD 50mln. (Newswires)

Renault (RNO FP) - Prelim H1 25 (EUR): Revenue +2.5% to 27.6bln (exp. 27.60bln), OM at 6.0% of group revenue, FCF 47mln; will launch immediate cost cutting plan, June volumes slightly lower than expected. Lowers guidance: Now aims to achieve FY 2025 operating margin around 6.5% vs over 7% previously announced. Now aims to achieve FY 25 FCF of 1.0-1.5bln (prev. +2bln). Expects continued decline in retail market. There was underperformance in the LCV business in a sharply declining market in Europe. CFO: Retail market has been slow across Europe and things are getting tougher in pricing. Appoints CFO Duncan Minto as interim CEO, with selection process for new CEO underway. (Newswires)

Sanofi (SAN FP) -SAR446597 earns fast track designation in the US for geographic atrophy. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

ASML (ASML NA) - Q2 2025 (EUR): Revenue 7.69bln (exp. 7.55bln), Net Bookings 5.5bln (exp. 4.4bln), Gross Margin 53.7% (exp. 51.9%). Interim dividend of 1.60/shr, to be paid on August 6th. Q3 Outlook: Revenue 7.4-7.9bln (exp. 8.2bln). Gross Margin 50-52%. FY25 Outlook: 15% increase in total net sales. Gross margin around 52%. CEO Commentary: “Looking at 2026, we see that our AI customers' fundamentals remain strong. At the same time, we continue to see increasing uncertainty driven by macro-economic and geopolitical developments. Therefore, while we still prepare for growth in 2026, we cannot confirm it at this stage." Gross margin in Q2 was above guidance, primarily driven by higher upgrade business and one-offs resulting in lower costs. "We see continued progress in litho intensity, particularly in DRAM, and the introduction of the TWINSCAN NXE:3800E reinforces that momentum. Meanwhile, EUV adoption is advancing as planned, including High NA. This quarter, we shipped the first TWINSCAN EXE:5200B system". (Newswires)

Bper Banca (BPE IM) - Final results of bid: 58.1% of Banca Popolare Di Sondrio (BPSO IM) shares tendered to offer launched by bank. Offer fully effective and payment consideration due July 18. (Newswires)

Freight / Shipping Names - J.B. Hunt (JBHT) shares fell 1.1% in extended trading, after it reported that profit fell due to higher costs. Details in US section below

Trade - US President Trump says will release tariff letters for smaller countries soon and will probably set one tariff for all of them over 10%

Media Names / WPP (WPP LN) / Publicis (PUB FP) - Omnicom (OMC) shares +0.3% after-hours after topping rev. estimates on strong growth in its advertising unit. Details in the US section below

Pharma Names - US President Trump says pharma tariffs will probably begin at month-end and initial tariffs on pharmaceuticals will be low

BROKER MOVES

Ryanair (RYA ID) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Oddo

SMI

Richemont (CFR SW) - Q1 (EUR): Revenue 5.41bln (exp. 5.44bln), Sales at Constant FX +6% (exp. +5.34%); continued strength in jewellery Maisons, +11%; specialist watchmakers -7%. By Region (in constant rates unless stated otherwise): Europe: Sales +11%. APAC: -4% (actual rates). Americas: +17%. Japan: -15%. Middle East & Africa +17%. (Newswires)

Partners (PGHN SW) - H1 (USD): AuM 174bln (prev. 149bln Y/Y). Confirms FY guidance. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Aker (AKER NO) - Q2 (NOK): PBT 1.41bln (prev. 2.29bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

Handelsbanken (SHBA SS) - Q2 (SEK): NII 10.94bln (exp. 10.65bln), Op. Profit 7.16bln (exp. 7.65bln), CET1 Capital Ratio 18.4% (exp. 19.48%). Notes that NII was held back by significant appreciation of SEK, as well as prev. positive repricing effects between deposits and lending were not repeated this quarter. (Newswires)

NEL (NEL NO) - Q2 (NOK): Revenue 215mln (exp. 210.8mln). (Newswires)

SEB (SEBA SS) - Q2 (SEK): NII 10.34bln (exp. 10.15bln, prev. 11.73bln Y/Y), Net Income 8.25bln (exp. 7.6bln, prev. 8.41bln Y/Y), CET1 Ratio 17.7% (exp. 17.4%). CEO: “Customers in the Corporate & Investment Banking division became increasingly active as the quarter evolved... “This was particularly notable within investment banking.” (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Kesko (KESKOB FH) downgraded to Hold from Buy at DNB Markets

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.41% at 6,243, NDX +0.13% at 22,885, DJI -0.98% at 44,023, RUT -1.92% at 2,206.

SECTORS: Technology +1.27%, Materials -2.11%, Health -1.88%, Financials -1.65%, Energy -1.35%, Real Estate -1.30%, Consumer Discretionary -1.09%, Utilities -0.92%, Consumer Staples -0.83%, Industrials -0.76%, Communication Services -0.62%.

CMS Payment Rule - The Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed 2026 hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgical centre payment rules to reduce Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs, expand care settings, increase hospital accountability, and protect the Medicare Trust Fund. It aims to equalise payments across hospital and off-campus sites and phase out the inpatient-only list for greater clinical flexibility.

J.B. Hunt (JBHT) - Shares fell 1.1% in extended trading, after it reported that profit fell due to higher costs. Q2 (USD) EPS 1.31 (exp. 1.32), Revenue 2.93bln (exp. 2.92bln). Intermodal and Truckload loads rose 6% and 13% respectively, offset by weaker Final Mile and pricing. Operating income fell 4% Y/Y due to wage, insurance, and equipment cost pressures. Exec said it has identified USD 100mln in annual cost reductions.

NVIDIA (NVDA) - CEO says US export licences for H20 chip have not been issued yet, adds he's not sure if the licenses will come through, but is sure the licenses will come very fast and there are many orders already in. (Newswires)

Omnicom Group (OMC) - Q2 adj. EPS 2.05 (exp. 2.00), Q2 revenue USD 4.02bln (exp. 3.95bln), Q2 operating profit USD 439.2mln (exp. 574.5mln). Its advertising and media unit saw growth of 8.2%. CEO highlighted resilience amid macro uncertainty. The firm reaffirmed closing its Interpublic (IPG) acquisition in H2 following US antitrust clearance. Shares ended extended trading around flat, having risen by as much as 5%.

Wealth Managers - US President Trump is expected to sign an executive order in the coming days to encourage greater access to private market investments in US 401k plans, WSJ reports. The order will direct the Department of Labor and SEC to issue guidance for employers and plan administrators on including private assets in these retirement plans.

16 Jul 2025 - 06:57- Geopolitical- Source: Newsquawk