Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 20th June 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks initially saw directionless trade following a non-existent lead from Wall Street amid the Juneteenth market holiday. Nevertheless, geopolitics remained in the spotlight as US President Trump now has to decide whether or not to join Israel’s offensive against Iran’s nuclear facilities within the next two weeks, contingent on negotiations. Sentiment eventually turned mostly firmer with notable Israel-Iran newsflow on the lighter side. ASX 200 was subdued with miners dragging on the index whilst losses in financials also kept upside capped. Nikkei 225 was buoyed by recent JPY weakness but came off best levels in tandem with USD/JPY after Japanese Core CPI topped expectations, whilst stale BoJ minutes (from two meetings ago) were also released. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were initially choppy with the indices trimming modest earlier gains despite relatively quiet newsflow. The PBoC LPR setting was a non-event, with the central bank maintaining the 1-year and 5-year LPRs as expected.

China Rare Earths - Chinese exports of rare earth magnets dropped sharply in May, particularly shipments to the US, amid the ongoing trade war, Bloomberg reports. Despite a June meeting in London and President Trump’s claim that rare earth issues were resolved, export volumes remain suppressed.

Hon Hai (HNHPF) - Foxconn is set to manufacture Apple (AAPL) iPhone enclosures in India for the first time, expanding its operations in Tamil Nadu, DigiTimes reports. The move supports Apple’s diversification strategy and India’s growing role in the global supply chain, with Foxconn establishing a dedicated production unit locally.

SoftBank (SFTBY) - Founder Masayoshi Son is proposing a USD 1tln industrial complex in Arizona with TSMC (TSM) to manufacture AI-powered robots and advance high-tech production, aiming to replicate China’s Shenzhen model and revive US tech manufacturing, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: FTSE 100 -0.6%, DAX 40 -1.1%, CAC 40 -1.3%, IBEX 35 -1.3%, Euro Stoxx 50 -1.3%

SECTORS: Energy 1.28%, Healthcare 0.37%, Utilities 0.05%, Telecoms -0.05%, Consumer Stpl -0.59%, Industrials -0.98%, Financials -1.24%, Materials -1.35%, IT -1.68%, Consumer Disc -1.97%

FTSE 100

UK GfK - UK GfK Consumer Confidence (Jun) -18.0 vs. Exp. -20.0 (Prev. -20.0)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Deliveroo (ROO LN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

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

Hays (HAS LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Investec

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Thyssenkrupp Nucera (NCH2 GY) - Co. signs agreement to acquire key technology assets from green hydrogen. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Dupixent approved in the US as the only targeting medicine to treat patients with Bullous Permphigoid. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Eutelsat (ETL FP) - CMA CGM confirms its commitment to Eutelsat as a shareholder in the Co. Elsewhere, Eutelsat is to increase capital by EUR 1.35bln, and the French State is to subscribe to half of that.

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

ArcelorMittal (MT NA) - Co. dropped plans for green steel in Germany due to high energy costs. (Newswires)

Brunello Cucinelli (BCU IM) - FMR cut its stake in the Co. to 4.351% (prev. 9.483%), as of June 6. (Newswires)

European Tech - The European Investment Bank plans to invest EUR 70bln in European tech firms from 2025-2027, aiming to boost competition with China and the US. The funding will include EUR 20bln in equity, EUR 40bln in loans, and EUR 10bln in guarantees, targeting AI, supercomputing, green industries, health, and defence technologies, Reuters reports. (Reuters)

Geopolitics - US President Trump offered Iran a two-week window to monitor negotiations before deciding on military action. (Newswires)

Inditex (ITX SM) - Co. Chief says conditions for Russia return is "certainly not" in place, according to the FT. (FT)

Naturgy (NTGY SM) - Reduction in major shareholders has been falling from 85% to 76.2%. (Newswires)

UniCredit (UCG IM) - Co. says it will likely withdraw the offer for Banco BPM (BAMI IM) "if things continue like this", via Repubblica. Our future is very bright with or without M&A deals. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US - Closed for Juneteenth Holiday

20 Jun 2025 - 06:57- EquitiesResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk