Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 18th July 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks were predominantly higher following the positive handover from Wall St where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose to fresh record highs with sentiment underpinned by better-than-expected data. ASX 200 outperformed its regional peers and climbed to a fresh all-time high as advances were led by the Mining, Materials and Resources sectors with the former helped by gains in BHP following its Q4 production update and with Novonix shares up around 20% on plans to boost US graphite production as the US sets 93.5% anti-dumping duties on Chinese graphite. Nikkei 225 failed to sustain a brief return above the 40,000 level and pared its opening gains amid cautiousness heading into the upper house election on Sunday with Japan facing political uncertainty should the ruling coalition fail to retain its majority in the House of Councillors. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were underpinned in tandem with the gains across most of the Asia-Pac region and as participants shrugged off reports that the US is setting a 93.5% anti-dumping duty on graphite from China and that China threatened to block the Panama Ports deal unless its shipping giant COSCO is part of it.

BHP (BHP AT) - Q4 WAIO production (100% basis) rose 1% Y/Y to 77.5mln tons, copper production rose 2% Y/Y to 516.2k tons, guides FY26 iron ore WAIO production (100% basis) 284mln-296mln tons and guides FY26 Escondida copper production 1,150k-1,250k tons. Co. says as part of review, it is assessing the potential divestment of the WAN assets. (Newswires)

China Rare Earths - China’s Ministry of State Security accused foreign intelligence agencies of stealing controlled rare earth materials, which it considers a strategic asset. The agency reaffirmed efforts to curb smuggling even as Beijing agreed to review export applications following trade talks with the US, Bloomberg reports.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +1.46% at 5,376, Dax 40 +1.49% at 24,367, FTSE 100 +0.52% at 8,973, CAC 40 +1.29% at 7,822, FTSE MIB +0.92% at 40,129, IBEX 35 +0.84% at 14,003, PSI +0.02% at 7,696, SMI +0.34% at 11,952, AEX +1.37% at 914

SECTORS: Industrials 2.86%, IT 2.76%, Financials 0.94%, Telecoms 0.40%, Materials 0.36%, Consumer Disc 0.13%, Energy 0.06%, Consumer Stpl 0.06%, Utilities -0.07%, Healthcare -0.42%

FTSE 100

GSK (GSK LN) - US FDA advisory panel votes against GSK's blood cancer drug blenrep in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone in previously treated patients. (Newswires)

UK BNPL - The UK will regulate buy-now-pay-later lenders starting in 2026. Providers must be authorised by the FCA, conduct affordability checks, and support struggling borrowers. Customers will have the right to take complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Temporary permissions allow trading during the authorisation process. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Barclays (BARC LN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Salzgitter (SZG GY) - Prelim H1 25 (EUR): EBITDA 116.8mln (exp. 113mln), Sales 4.7bln (exp. 2.35bln). Cuts FY guidance: Sees FY25 sales between 9-9.5bln (prev. saw 9.5bln-10bln, exp. 9.88bln) and do not expect to see any notable market recovery in second half of the year either. (Newswires) Shares -8.5% in pre-market trade

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Completed acquisition of Blueprint Medicines. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Eiffage (FGR FP) - Co. won design-build contract in Poland; to be completed in 2028. (Newswires)

Valeo (FR FP) - A major Chinese OEM selects Valeo's innovative panoramic head-up display for its new model; production expected to start in 2026. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

WDP (WDP FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

PAN EUROPE

Eni (ENI IM) - Bloomberg reports that Eni's deal with Blackrock's GIP is to value the carbon unit at EUR 1bln. (Bloomberg)

Trade - White House said the EU continues to be very eager in trade negotiations. US set to impose 93.5% tariff on battery material from China.

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Clariant (CLN SW) - Co. rejects LyondellBasell’s (LYB) allegations against four companies re. 2020 law competition law infringement. Co. firmly rejects allegations and will adamantly defend its position in proceedings. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Schindler (SCHP SW) - H1 (CHF): Net Income 531mln (prev. 494mln Y/Y). Affirms guidance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Sonovo (SOON SW) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein

SCANDINAVIA

Billerud (BILL SS) - Q2 (SEK): Sales 10.24bln (exp. 10.94bln). Notes that uncertainty continued to impact market conditions for Europe in Q2. (Newswires)

Boliden (BOL SS) - Q2 (SEK): EBIT 1.09bln (exp. 1.48bln), Revenue 22.8bn (exp. 21.34bln). Notes that weaker USD contributed negatively with around SEK 600mln vs Q2'24. Capex guidance unchanged. (Newswires)

Danske Bank (DANSKE DC) - H1 (DKK): Total Income 27.9bln (exp. 13.9bln), NII 9.06bln (exp. 8.93bln), Net Income 5.54bln (exp. 5.44bln). Still sees FY Net Income 21-23bln (exp. 21.79bln). (Newswires)

EQT (EQT SS) - Co. completed acquisition of Niwas Housing Finance. (Newswires)

Electrolux (ELUXB SS) - Q2 (SEK): Revenue 31.3bln (prev. 33.8bln Y/Y), Op. Income 797mln (exp. 747mln). Guidance unchanged. (Newswires)

Kone (KNEBV FH) - Q2 (EUR): Orders 2.31bln (exp. 2.35bln), Adj. EBIT 347.2mln (exp. 346.2mln). Expects sales to grow 2-5% at comparable exchange rates. Expects markets in North America to be stable. In China, market is exp. to decline significantly. (Newswires)

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Q2 (SEK): Op. Income 1.81bln (exp. 1.77bln), Revenue 44.6bln (prev. 47.4bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

Saab (SAAB SS) - Q2 (SEK): Sales 19.79bln (exp. 18.11bln), Op. Income 1.98bln (exp. 1.71bln). (Newswires)

SKF (SKF SS) - Q2 (SEK): Sales 23.1bln (exp. 23.01bln), Adj. EBIT 3.09bln (exp. 2.71bln). Q3 Guidance: Expect organic sales to be relatively unchanged. Currency impact on op. profit is exp. to be around SEK 500mln negative vs Q3'24. Notes that auto business continued to face challenges globally, except for EV. (Newswires)

Telia (TELIA SS) - Co. offers SEK 3.25/SHR cash offer for to Bredband2, in a deal with SEK 3.2bln. (Newswires)

Telenor (TEL NO) - Q2 (NOK): Adj. EBITDA 9.3bln (co. consensus 8.9bln). Raises EBITDA outlook; sees mid single digit organic growth in adj. EBITDA (prev. saw low-mid-single digit) (Newswires)

Wartsila (WRT1V FH) - Q2 (EUR): Orders 2.19bln (exp. 1.86bln), Sales 1.71bln (exp. 1.70bln). Notes that US market for battery energy storage is currently facing challenges amid tariffs. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Vestas (VWS DC) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.54% at 6,297, NDX +0.74% at 23,078, DJI +0.52% at 44,484, RUT +1.20% at 2,254

SECTORS: Health -1.18%, Real Estate -0.16%, Consumer Discretionary +0.31%, Communication Services +0.36%, Utilities +0.37%, Energy +0.42%, Materials +0.60%, Consumer Staples +0.87%, Industrials +0.87%, Technology +0.89%, Financials +0.92%

Chevron (CVX), Hess (HES) - The FTC reopened and set aside the final consent order restricting Chevron from appointing Hess CEO John B. Hess to its board. The FTC found no antitrust violations or risks of market concentration from the acquisition. The 3-0 vote concluded that maintaining the order would harm the FTC’s credibility and public interest.

ExxonMobil (XOM), Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) - The FTC reopened and set aside the final consent order barring Exxon from appointing Scott Sheffield and certain Pioneer employees to its board following Exxon's acquisition of Pioneer. The FTC found no antitrust violations or risks of increased market concentration. The unanimous 3-0 vote cited maintaining the order would harm FTC credibility and public interest.

GSK (GSK) - FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted against the overall benefit/risk profile of Blenrep combinations at the proposed dosage for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The FDA will consider this ahead of the July 23rd PDUFA date. GSK remains confident in Blenrep’s benefit/risk and will continue working with the FDA.

Lululemon (LULU) - Lululemon is seeing excess inventory of its flagship black leggings at outlet stores amid slowing sales, lower foot traffic, and weakening core demand, according to a Jefferies analyst, signalling pressure on a key product that is typically not discounted.

Netflix (NFLX) - Netflix topped Q2 profit and sales expectations, and it raised its FY sales and margin view, citing strong performance despite broader media industry cutbacks. Shares, however, slipped in afterhours trading, as the company flagged content expense rises in Q3 and Q4. It reported Q2 EPS of 7.19 (exp. 7.05), Q2 revenue USD 11.08bln (exp. 11.04bln). Netflix said ad sales momentum is strong, and US upfront deals are nearly complete. Expects H2 2025 operating margin to be lower than H1. Response to recent price changes met expectations. It ended Q2 with 14.5bln in gross debt and 8.2bln in cash. Members watched over 95bln hours in H1, up 1% Y/Y. The Final Squid Game season drew 122mln views. It has greenlit a live-action Assassin’s Creed series, which Ubisoft’s (UBSFY) film division will co-produce. Netflix also confirmed it will release Splinter Cell: Deathwatch this autumn. Executive said that content expenses are to ramp up in Q3 and Q4, and even with that, it still expect margins to be up in each quarter. Exec also said that the media company is seeing nice momentum in advertising sales. Sees Q3 EPS at 6.87 (exp. 6.65), and Q3 revenue of USD 11.53bln (exp. 11.25bln). For the FY, sees revenue between USD 44.8-45.2bln (exp. 44.43bln), with an FX-neutral operating margin of 29.5% (prev. saw 29%), or 30% on a reported basis; said the increase primarily reflects the USD weakening against most other currencies, plus health member growth and ad sales.

Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) - Sarepta Therapeutics reported another patient death from acute liver failure in an early-stage trial for a gene therapy targeting limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, following two recent deaths of teenage boys. The company informed regulators and investigators about the fatality promptly.

US AI - President Trump is set to announce an AI Action Plan that will ease AI regulation, expand energy sources for data centres, and push Congress to enact federal legislation pre-empting state-level AI rules, Bloomberg reports. The plan includes executive orders to accelerate US AI development, following a directive to create a comprehensive framework.

18 Jul 2025 - 06:56- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk