Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 20th October 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks were higher amid tailwinds from recent trade-related rhetoric including US President Trump's comments on Friday that 100% tariffs are not sustainable and that he will be meeting with Chinese President Xi, while it was also reported that US Treasury Secretary Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He engaged in candid, in-depth and constructive discussions regarding trade and will meet in person in the week ahead to continue their discussions. ASX 200 marginally gained amid strength in tech and industrials, although the index notably lagged behind regional peers amid weakness in the commodity-related sectors. Nikkei 225 surged to a fresh all-time high above the 49,000 level amid a reignition of the Takaichi trade with the LDP leader on track to become Japan's first female PM following an agreement to form a coalition with Japan's Innovation Party. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp joined in on the positive mood with the Hong Kong benchmark led higher by strength in tech, and as participants digested the latest Chinese data releases, including GDP, Industrial Production and Retail Sales which either matched or topped forecasts, while the CPC Central Committee is also holding a four-day closed-door meeting through to Thursday to discuss the five-year development plan.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.77% at 5,608, Dax 40 -1.76% at 23,845, FTSE 100 -0.86% at 9,355, CAC 40 -0.18% at 8,174, FTSE MIB -1.45% at 41,758, IBEX 35 -0.24% at 15,609, PSI -0.90% at 8,266, SMI -0.51% at 12,638, AEX -0.33% at 956

SECTORS: Consumer Stpl 1.32%, Telecoms 0.62%, Consumer Disc 0.18%, Utilities 0.15%, Energy 0.11%, Healthcare -0.05%, IT -0.77%, Materials -0.83%, Industrials -2.11%, Financials -2.21%

FTSE 100

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) - Enhertu followed by THP before surgery showed 67% complete response in patients with high-risk HER2-posiitve early-stage breast cancer, reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death by 53% vs T-DM1 in patients with high-risk HER2-positive early breast cancer following neoadjuvant therapy; Datroway demonstrated an unprecedented median overall survival improvement of five months vs. chemotherapy as 1st-line treatment for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer for whom immunotherapy was not an option in TROPION-Breast02. Elsewhere, Amgen (AMGN) and AstraZeneca received FDA approval for Tezspire as an add-on maintenance treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps in patients aged 12 and older. Tezspire is the first biologic targeting thymic stromal lymphopoietin approved for this condition. Elsewhere, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo reported DESTINY-Breast05 Phase III results showing ENHERTU significantly improved invasive disease-free survival versus T-DM1 in HER2-positive early breast cancer with residual disease post-neoadjuvant therapy. ENHERTU reduced the risk of invasive recurrence or death by 53%, achieving a three-year IDFS rate of 92.4% versus 83.7%, consistent across subgroups. (AstraZeneca)

BP (BP/ LN) - Maeil Business paper writes that BP was selected as the preferred bidder for South Korea’s East Sea deep-sea gas field development project. Korean National Oil Corporation official said, “Official negotiations will take place after notification of preferred negotiators”. (Maeil)

UK Housing - UK House Price Rightmove YY (Oct) -0.10% (Prev. -0.10%). UK House Price Rightmove MM (Oct) 0.30% (Prev. 0.40%)

UK Pensions - Three pension giants in the UK have made a fresh GBP 3bln wave of commitments to invest in rental homes, infrastructure and fast-growing companies, ahead of a government-backed meeting to discuss how they can work to boost investment, according to FT

UK Budget - UK Chancellor Reeves says will continue to meet fiscal rules and lower the debt and deficit. More fiscal headroom would be good but would mean trade-offs. In a world as volatile it is today; a bigger buffer helps. Mindful to get the balance right on taxes. Need to see reform in UK welfare system.

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Marks & Spencer (MKS LN) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

Rolls Royce (RR/ LN) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Berenberg

DAX

Hannover Rueck (HNR1 GY) - Co. expects stable market environment in Germany and continued growth in demand for reinsurance cover in 2026, motor insurance segment recovering after tariff measures by primary insurers. (Hannover Rueck)

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - The dual CEO role of Volkswagen Group and Porsche AG (P911 GY) to be dissolved on January 1st, 2026. Dr Michael Leiters will become CEO of Porsche AG (P911 GY) on 1st January 2026. (Volkswagen)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Deutsche Bank (DBK GY) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies

Fraport (FRA GY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley Shares -2.4% in pre-market trade

Siltronic (WAF GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies; analysts see a lack of negative catalysts going forward.

CAC

Kering (KER FP), L'Oreal (OR FP) - Kering will sell its beauty division, including the House of Creed and licences for Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga products, to L’Oréal for EUR 4bln. The all-cash deal closing in H1 2026. The firms will also form a strategic committee and explore JVs in wellness. (Kering)

French stocks - S&P lowers France ratings to 'A+' from 'AA-' on heightened risks to budgetary consolidation; outlook stable. (S&P)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Sanofi’s high-dose influenza vaccine demonstrates superior protection for older adults against hospitalization vs standard-dose. (Sanofi)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Unifor’s union writes “strongly condemn the company’s decision to relocate future J4U (Jeep Compass) vehicle production from Brampton, Ontario to the United States”. (Unifor)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Forvia (EO FP) - Q3 (EUR): Revenue 6.12bln (exp. 6.04bln). Confirms FY25 guidance. (GlobeNewswire)

BROKER MOVES

ADP (ADP FP) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

PAN EUROPE

China-Exposed Stocks - Chinese GDP QQ SA (Q3) 1.1% vs. Exp. 0.8% (Prev. 1.1%, Rev. 1.0%). Chinese Retail Sales YY (Sep) 3.0% vs. Exp. 3.0% (Prev. 3.4%). Chinese Industrial Output YY (Sep) 6.5% vs. Exp. 5.0% (Prev. 5.2%).

Defence Stocks - US President Trump told Ukrainian President Zelensky in a tense meeting on Friday that he doesn’t intend to provide missiles, at least for now, according to Axios. It was separately reported that Trump urged Zelensky to accept Russian President Putin’s terms and said that Putin warned he would “destroy” Ukraine if it did not agree, according to FT. (FT) Rheinmetall (RHM GY) shares +2.3% in pre-market trade

Iberdrola (IBE SM) - Q3 net electricity production -0.8% Y/Y at 27,726GWH, installed capacity at end-September at 57,453 MW. (Iberdrola)

Spanish stocks - US President Trump says Spain has not been loyal to NATO, should be reprimanded

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Holcim (HOLN SW) - Co. to buy Xella for EUR 1.85bln, deal to deliver EUR 60mln in EBITDA synergies. Expected to close in H2 2026. (Holcim)

Novartis (NOVN SW) - PSMAddition data show Novartis Pluvicto delays progression to end-stage prostate cancer. PluvictoTM plus standard of care (ARPI + ADT) significantly reduced risk of progression or death by 28% (HR 0.72) versus SoC alone, with positive trend in OS (HR 0.84) in PSMA+ metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). (Novartis)

Roche (ROG SW) - FDA approves Roche’s Gazyva/Gazyvaro for the treatment of lupus nephritis. (Roche)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Genmab (GMAB DC) - New data showed investigational Rinatabeart Sesutecan achieved anti-tumour activity in heavily pretreated patients with Advanced Endometrial cancer. (Genmab)

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - Novo Nordisk received FDA approval for Rybelsus to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes at high CV risk, regardless of prior events. The approval is supported by the SOUL trial, reinforcing the efficacy of semaglutide as the only oral GLP-1 treatment. (Novo Nordisk)

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (SOBI SS) - Q3 (SEK): Revenue 7.776bln (exp. 7.907bln), Adj. EBITA margin 47%; revised FY25 outlook, revenue now anticipated to grow by low double-digit percentage (prev. high single-digit), adj. EBITA margin to be in mid-to-high 30% of revenue (prev. mid-30s). (Swedish Orphan Biovitrum)

BROKER MOVES

Yara (YAR NO) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Danske Bank

Volvo (VOLVB SS) upgraded to Hold from Sell at DNB Markets

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.53% at 6,664, NDX +0.65% at 24,818, DJI +0.52% at 46,191, RUT -0.60% at 2,452

SECTORS: Utilities -0.38%, Materials -0.35%, Industrials +0.05%, Technology +0.37%, Health +0.63%, Consumer Discretionary +0.64%, Real Estate +0.66%, Communication Services +0.76%, Energy +0.80%, Financials +0.84%, Consumer Staples +1.23%.

NVIDIA (NVDA), TSMC (TSM) - Nvidia unveiled the first US-made Blackwell wafer produced at TSMC’s Phoenix plant, marking a key milestone in onshoring AI chip production. The wafer supports Trump’s tech manufacturing push, with TSMC set to produce 2-4nm and A16 chips used in AI, telecoms and high-performance computing applications.

20 Oct 2025 - 06:51- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk