Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 18th December 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks were mostly lower following on from the tech-led selling stateside and ahead of US inflation data and a slew of upcoming central bank decisions. ASX 200 was flat with the index constrained by weakness in energy, gold miners and industrials. Nikkei 225 briefly dipped beneath the 49,000 level amid tech woes and anticipation of a BoJ rate hike when the central bank concludes its 2-day policy meeting tomorrow. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed as tech-related headwinds dampened risk sentiment in Hong Kong, although the mainland kept afloat after the PBoC's open market operations, in which it opted to utilise both 7- and 14-day reverse repos.

TSMC (2330 TT) - Co. is to install cutting edge 3nm chip tools in Arizona plant next summer, according to Nikkei. (Nikkei)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.58% at 5,685, Dax 40 -0.50% at 23,956, FTSE 100 +0.92% at 9,774, CAC 40 -0.25% at 8,086, FTSE MIB +0.25% at 44,099, IBEX 35 +0.10% at 16,938, PSI +0.10% at 8,070, SMI -0.25% at 13,024, AEX -0.59% at 930

SECTORS: Energy 0.94%, Telecoms 0.91%, Financials 0.75%, Consumer Stpl 0.70%, Utilities 0.31%, Healthcare 0.21%, Materials 0.19%, Consumer Disc -0.57%, Industrials -1.06%, IT -1.95%

FTSE 100

BP (BP/ LN) - Co. appoints Meg O’Neill as the next CEO, effective 1st April 2026. This comes as current CEO Auchincloss steps down from his role as CEO. (BP)

JD Sports Fashion (JD/ LN) - Co. announces completion of a GBP 100mln share buyback. (Newswires)

UK Regulation / LSE (LSEG LN) - UK is to water down rules for financial benchmarks with most index providers to be exempt from UK regulations under a scaled-back regime, according to FT. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Rheinmetall (RHM GY) - Co. announced EUR 350mln non-cash impairment for discontinued operations; decided to initiate sale for its civil division; sees 30-35% sales growth for 2025. Executive board has been in talks with potential interested parties since April 2025. Management board decided in Dec 25 to negotiate sale with two bidders and is aiming to sign contract in Q1 2026. Activities to be sold also include companies directly related to it from area of other non-operating entities. Impairment loss has no impact on liquidity or earnings of group's continuing operations. OM expected between 18.5-19.0% for 2025. (Rheinmetall)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Danone (BN FP) - Co. announced the purchase of roughly 5.8 million of its own shares held by its Spanish subsidiary, with no impact on total Danone shares held by the group. (Danone)

LVMH (MC FP) - CEO on succession plans, says he hopes he'll make 10 more years, via CNBC interview. (CNBC)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Nexans (NEX FP) - Co. announces today the completion of the acquisition of Electro Cables, a well-positioned Canadian manufacturer of low-voltage cable systems, in a strategic move that expands the company’s footprint in one of North America’s most dynamic segments. (Nexans)

Sopra Steria (SOP FP) - Co. announced that it is in exclusive negotiations with a view to acquiring Starion and Nexova on behalf of its subsidiary CS Group. Subject to regulatory approval, and exp. to be completed in H1’26. (Sopra Steria)

BROKER MOVES

Eutelsat (ETL FP) initiated with Neutral at BNP Paribas

PAN EUROPE

ABN Amro Bank (ABN NA) - Co. subsidiary secures MiCar license, enabling crypto custody services for institutional clients under new EU regulatory framework. (Newswires)

Aena (AENA SM) - Co. announces the acquisition of a 51% stake in Leeds, Bradford and Newcastle airports. Deal expected to close in Q2’26 and worth GBP 270mln. Co. to host call with analysts and investors today. (Newswires)

Raiffeisen International (RBI AV) - CEO Strobll is to be succeeded by Hoellerer, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Russia-Ukraine - The US and Russia are to hold talks on the Ukraine war in Miami this weekend, according to Politico. The plans remain in flux, but if they go ahead this weekend, the administration will present the outcome of the most recent round of discussions to Russian officials, who have not shifted much on their demands. (Politico)

Telefonica (TEF SM) - Co. announced its intention to delist from NYSE due to costs and admin burden. Does not plan ads listing on another U.S exchange and decision is not expected to have any impact on clients and partners or commercial presence in the US. (Telefonica)

Wolters Kluwer (WKL NA) - Tagetik achieves IBM Cloud for Financial Services(R) Validated designation. (Wolters Kluwer)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

ABB (ABBN SW) - Co. to acquire electrical grid automation solutions provider Netcontrol, terms undisclosed, but deal is expected to close in Q1’26. (Newswires)

Novartis (NOVN SW) / Roche (ROG SW) - Cos are reportedly nearing deals with the White House on drug pricing, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

DNO (DNO NO) - Co. announced that it has placed its North Sea oil production with subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil Corporation and Shell plc effective 1 January 2026 and secured related offtake financing facilities for up to USD 410mln. (DNO)

EDP Renovaveis (EDPR PL) - Notes of a completion of Ocean Winds sale of a minority stake in its 500 MW Noirmoutier offshore project. (EDP Renovaveis)

ISS AS (ISS DC) - Co. expands multi-country contract with financial services company. Contract expansion has an additional annual value of approximately DKK 100mln, bringing total annual revenue from customers to more than DKK 300mln. (Newswires)

Kongsberg Gruppen (KOG NO) - Co. announces the signing of the demerger plan for the spin-off of Kongsberg Maritime. Assets, rights and liabilities to be demerged constitute 24% of the values in KOG ASA, while the remaining 75% will remain in KOG ASA. Co. postpones Q1’26 financial report to May 2026. (Kongsberg)

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Co. has been awarded a SEK 820mln order with Cox Science Center and Aquarium for the expansion of their existing facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.16% at 6,721, NDX -1.93% at 24,648, DJI -0.47% at 47,886, RUT -1.07% at 2,492

SECTORS: Technology -2.19%, Communication Services -1.90%, Industrials -1.64%, Consumer Discretionary -1.22%, Utilities -0.79%, Health -0.22%, Financials -0.03%, Real Estate +0.28%, Materials +0.43%, Consumer Staples +0.45%, Energy +2.21%.

Lululemon (LULU) - Elliott builds over a USD 1bln stake in Lululemon (LULU) and is pushing for former Ralph Lauren executive Jane Nielsen to be Lululemon's new CEO, according to WSJ. (WSJ)

Micron Technology Inc (MU) - Q1 2026 (USD): Adj. EPS 4.78 (exp. 3.84), Revenue 13.6bln (exp. 12.78bln). Outlook: Q2 adj. EPS 8.42 (exp. 4.78). Q2 revenue 18.7bln (exp. 13.64bln). (Micron)

18 Dec 2025 - 06:57- Exclusive- Source: Newsquawk