Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 17th September 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mixed with global risk sentiment cautious ahead of the crucial FOMC policy decision where the Fed is expected to deliver its first rate cut for this year. ASX 200 was pressured with underperformance in the Consumer Discretionary, Real Estate, Miners and Materials sectors front-running the declines, while there was some resilience seen in Utilities, Energy and Tech. Nikkei 225 swung between gains and losses and briefly returned to the 45,000 level with price action choppy following initial currency headwinds and mixed Japanese trade data in which Exports fell for a 4th consecutive month, albeit at a much slower-than-feared pace, while Imports printed a wider-than-anticipated contraction. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp gained with the Hong Kong benchmark led higher by tech strength as Baidu (9888 HK) rallied after an analyst upgrade due to optimism regarding its in-house chip venture and with SMIC (981 HK) testing domestically-made advanced chip-making machinery. Furthermore, Hong Kong Chief Executive Lee made several pledges in his policy address, while China also recently issued measures on increasing consumption.

AI Chips - China trials its first advanced tools for AI chipmaking with SMIC (981 HK) testing domestically-made machinery as Beijing seeks to rival US-made processors, according to FT. (FT)

ByteDance - President Trump issued an executive order further extending the TikTok enforcement delay until December 16th, 2025. The DoJ will not enforce the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act against TikTok or similar apps for any conduct during this period or prior. CNN reports that a proposed TikTok deal would see US-based investors, including Oracle (ORCL), Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake, acquire roughly an 80% stake in the app’s US operations, with the remainder held by Chinese shareholders; the consortium would be governed by a majority-US board, and Trump and Xi are expected to finalise the agreement via a phone call on Friday.

BHP Group (BHP) - BHP will place its Saraji South coal mine in Queensland on care and maintenance from November, cutting around 750 jobs, citing high state royalties and weak market conditions that make low-margin operations unsustainable. Other BHP-Mitsubishi Alliance assets, including Peak Downs and Caval Ridge, remain unaffected.

US-China - China's state media notes regarding US-China trade talks in Madrid that China will review and approve matters related to TikTok technology export and intellectual property in accordance with the law, adds agreement on TikTok is in interests of both sides

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -1.22% at 5,374, Dax 40 -1.79% at 23,324, FTSE 100 -0.88% at 9,196, CAC 40 -1.00% at 7,818, FTSE MIB -1.28% at 42,505, IBEX 35 -1.51% at 15,163, PSI -0.37% at 7,738, SMI -1.12% at 12,008, AEX -0.83% at 912.

SECTORS: Energy 0.20%, IT -0.36%, Consumer Disc -0.46%, Healthcare -0.48%, Materials -0.65%, Consumer Stpl -1.09%, Telecoms -1.20%, Utilities -1.29%, Industrials -1.43%, Financials -2.03%

FTSE 100

GSK (GSK LN) - Co. plans to invest USD 30bln in R&D and manufacturing in the US over the next five years. (Newswires)

Glencore (GLEN LN) - Orion Minerals (ORN AT) in Australia said it had signed a non-binding term sheet with a unit of Glencore. (Newswires)

US-UK - Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), Google (GOOG), OpenAI, Salesforce (CRM) and CoreWeave (CRWV) pledged over USD 40bln in new UK AI investments alongside Trump’s state visit to the UK. Microsoft committed USD 30bln by 2028, Nvidia GBP 11bln, Google GBP 5bln, Salesforce USD 6bln, CoreWeave GBP 1.5bln, while OpenAI launched “Stargate UK” with large-scale GPU deployment. (Newswires)

UK Crypto - UK set to announce closer co-operation on cryptocurrencies, according to FT; UK Chancellor Reeves hopes greater regulatory alignment will allow better access to America’s deep capital markets. (Newswires)

UK Budget - The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has reportedly told UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves that it will downgrade productivity forecasts for the UK economy, according to CityAM. (CityAM) Context: On Friday, Telegraph reported that Britain’s fiscal watchdog is poised to downgrade its forecasts for productivity at November’s Budget, threatening to leave Rachel Reeves with a black hole as large as GBP 20bln.

Unilever (ULVR LN) - Ben and Jerry's co-founder Ben Jerry posts that "Jerry has made the difficult decision to step down from the company", via X. (X)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Centrica (CNA LN) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley; adds stock to its "Top Pick" list.

DAX

Beiersdorf (BEI GY) - Co. holder sold 5mln shares in an ABB. (Newswires) Shares -1.7% pre-market trade

BMW (BMW GY) - BMW plant Debrecen is to start production of IX3 by end-October. (Newswires)

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Audi to face a tax burden in the US that could total over EUR 1bln, due to US tariffs, via Handelsblatt citing sources. (Handelsblatt)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Co. enters Ecuadorian market and secures orders for 19 turbines for 112MW wind project. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Wacker Chemie (WCH GY) downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley

CAC

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Sanofi’s brivekimig achieved positive results in hidradenitis suppurativa in phase 2a study. In phase 2a study, brivekimig led to clinically meaningful improvements in primary and key secondary endpoints in biologic-naïve patients compared to placebo at week 16. (Sanofi)

Thales (HO FP) - Signs two strategic contracts over 11 years with Indigo of India. (Newswires)

Vinci (DG FP) - Autoroutes traffic +0.7% in August, +1.7% YTD; Airports passenger traffic +5.2%, +5.8% YTD, Commercial movements +4.6%, +6% YTD. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Eutelsat (ETL FP) downgraded to Add from Buy at AlphaValue

PAN EUROPE

Syensqo (SYENS BB) - Mike Radossich to become CEO as of January 1, 2026. Current CEO Dr Ilham Kadri to step down. (Newswires)

PostNL (PNL NA) - Provides outlook (EUR): Sees 2026 Capex of around 150mln/yr. To pay a dividend that develops in line with business production. For 2028 sees revenue above 4bln. To split the parcels segment for more effective management and international growth. (Newswires)

Wind names - The Dutch Government will grant around EUR 1bln in subsidies next year for the construction of offshore wind farms with a total capacity of 2GW. (Newswires)

UCB (UCB BB) - UCB SA bimekizumab new three-year data in hidradenitis suppurativa at EADV showed sustained disease control across most stringent clinical endpoints. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Solvay (SOLB BB) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Tenaris (TEN IM) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler

SMI

Nestle (NESN SW) - Co. Chairman Paul Bulcke steps down with Pablo Isla to take over, effective October 1st. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - Co. issued warning letter by FDA, as part of President Trump's attempts to crack down on drug advertising. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.13% at 6,607, NDX -0.08% at 24,274, DJI -0.27% at 45,758, RUT -0.09% at 2,403.

SECTORS: Utilities -1.81%, Real Estate -0.66%, Technology -0.57%, Materials -0.53%, Industrials -0.28%, Financials -0.20%, Health +0.03%, Consumer Staples +0.24%, Communication Services +0.27%, Consumer Discretionary +0.82%, Energy +1.73%.

Eli Lilly (LLY) - Eli Lilly’s oral GLP-1 candidate orforglipron met the primary endpoint in Phase 3 ATTAIN-1, showing superior body weight reduction versus placebo at 72 weeks. Highest-dose participants lost 27.3lbs on average, with 59.6% losing ≥10% and 39.6% ≥15% body weight. Trial also showed improvements in waist circumference, cardiovascular risk factors, and glycaemic control in prediabetic participants. (Newswires0

Memory Prices - Memory contract prices for NAND and DRAM surged by an estimated 15-20% in Q4, defying the usual year-end decline, as AI-driven demand and supply shortages prompted aggressive procurement from cloud service providers, according to DigiTimes. (DigiTimes)

JPMorgan (JPM) - Co. raises quarterly dividend to USD 1.50/shr (prev. 1.40). (Newswires)

Tesla (TSLA) - Co. settled a lawsuit related to a fatal 2019 crash in California involving its autopilot software, according to court documents. (Newswires)

17 Sep 2025 - 06:54- CryptocurrencyResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk