Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 21st March 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks ultimately traded mixed following the choppy performance stateside in the aftermath of the Super Thursday deluge of central bank announcements and ahead of quad witching. ASX 200 was just about kept afloat by notable outperformance in Consumer Staples as shares of Coles and Woolworths rallied after a report by the competition regulator which noted the supermarket retailers along with discount rival Aldi, were among the most profitable supermarket businesses in the world. Nikkei 225 initially traded higher on favourable currency moves but then reversed course after hitting resistance ahead of the 38,000 level and as the mostly firmer-than-expected Japanese inflation data supported the case for the BoJ to continue policy normalisation in the future. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were pressured despite the lack of fresh catalysts and as earnings results trickled in, while trade uncertainty continued to cloud over risk sentiment and NYT recently reported that Elon Musk is set to get access to a top-secret US plan for a potential war with China although President Trump later refuted this.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: -1.29% at 23,000, FTSE 100: -0.09% at 8,699, CAC 40: -0.95% at 8,094, Euro Stoxx 50: -1.04% at 5,450, AEX: -0.38% at 919, IBEX 35: -0.89% at 13,295, FTSE MIB: -1.42% at 39,148, SMI: +0.22% at 13,088, PSI: -0.61% at 6,861

SECTORS: Utilities 0.87%, Consumer Stpl 0.80%, Energy 0.60%, Healthcare 0.14%, IT 0.02%, Telecoms -0.12%, Materials -0.81%, Industrials -0.95%, Financials -0.97%, Consumer Disc -1.59%

FTSE 100

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) - Proxy advisor PIRC recommends that Co. shareholders vote against the resolution to authorise share repurchase at AGM. (Newswires)

Glencore (GLEN LN) - Santacruz Silver announced a USD 10mln initial payment to Glencore under a voluntary plan to exercise the acceleration option. (Newswires)

UK Confidence - UK GfK Consumer Confidence (Mar) -19.0 vs. Exp. -21.0 (Prev. -20.0). (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

National Grid (NG/ LN) - Co. said a fire at the North Hyde substation in West London has damaged equipment, leading to a loss of power supply in the area. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Crest Nicholson (CRST LN) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Fuchs (FPE3 GY) - FY (EUR): Net Income 302mln (exp. 305.4mln), EBIT 434mln (exp. 435.9mln). Outlook 2025: Sales revenue around EUR 3.7bln. (Newswires)

Prosiebensat 1 Media (PSM GY) - Co. and General Atlantic agree on minority stake buyout in Nucom and Parshipmeet together with an intended sale of Verivox. Prosiebensat to pay EUR 10mln cash and 5.9mln treasury shares to General Atlantic. (Newswires)

Salzgitter (SZG GY) - Final FY (EUR): Revenue 10bln (prelim. 10bln), Pretax -296.2mln (prev. 238.4mln Y/Y). Affirms FY25 guidance: EBITDA between 350-550mln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Mercedes Benz (MBG GY) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

L'Oreal (OR FP) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

PAN EUROPE

Defence Names / Geopolitics - US President Trump says they are doing well with Ukraine and Russia; signing deal shortly with Ukraine on rare earths. (Newswires)

Delivery Names / DHL (DHL GY) - FedEx (FDX) shares fell 5.6% in after-hour trading after the co. reported mixed headline results, but cut its FY25 outlook. details in the US section

Heathrow Airport / Airliners / Ferrovial (FER SM) - London's Heathrow Airport said it is experiencing a significant power outage due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport. To maintain the safety of passengers and staff, Heathrow will be closed until 23:59 on 21 March. Significant disruption is expected over the coming days, and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until it reopens. While fire crews are responding to the incident, there is no clarity on when power may be reliably restored. (Newswires)

Sports Retailers / Adidas (ADS GY) - Nike (NKE) shares fell 5.2% in after-hour trading, despite reporting headline beats; the company highlighted that sales will continue to decline amid tariffs and declining consumer confidence. details in the US section below

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Co. looks to double sourcing in Mexico in 3 years and Mexico ops target 75% local content by 2027. (Newswires)

Sabadell (SAB SM) / BBVA (BBVA SM) - Sabadell Chairman Josep Oliu warns of a loss of clients and negative revenue synergies if the current BBVA takeover succeeds; a different value proposal is needed to offset the risks in the deal. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Novartis (NOVN SW) - Novartis receives third FDA approval for oral Fabhalta (iptacopan) – the first and only treatment approved in C3 glomerulopathy (C3G). (Novartis)

SoftwareOne (SWON SW) - Crayon transaction cleared by German Federal Cartel Office. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Nestle (NESN SW) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

SCANDINAVIA

Alfa Laval (ALFA SS) - To acquire Fives' cryogenics unit for USD 800mln in cash. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Tele2 (TEL2B SS) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.22% at 5,663, NDX -0.30% at 19,678, DJI -0.03% at 41,953, RUT -0.65% at 2,069

SECTORS: Materials -0.62%, Consumer Staples -0.52%, Technology -0.49%, Industrials -0.46%, Communication Services -0.32%, Consumer Discretionary -0.19%, Real Estate -0.10%, Health +0.11%, Financials +0.19%, Energy +0.41%, Utilities +0.41%.

FedEx Corp (FDX) - Q3 2025 (USD): Adj. EPS 4.51 (exp. 4.58), Revenue 22.2bln (exp. 21.91bln); cuts FY25 outlook. Adj. operating income 1.51bln (exp. 1.52bln). Adj. operating margin 6.8% (exp. 7.06%). Guidance: Sees FY Adj. EPS 18.00-18.60 (prev. 19.00-20.00, exp. 19.27). Sees FY revenue flat to slightly down Y/Y (prev. flat Y/Y). (Newswires)

Micron Technology Inc (MU) - Q2 2025 (USD): Adj. EPS 1.56 (exp. 1.43), Revenue 8.05bln (exp. 7.90bln). Adj. gross margin 37.9% vs. 20% y/y (exp. 38.4%). Cash flow from operations 3.94bln vs. 1.22bln y/y (exp. 4.2bln). Adj. operating expenses 1.05bln, +9.1% y/y (exp. 1.11bln). Q3 outlook: Adj. revenue 8.6bln-9.0bln (exp. 8.55bln). Adj. EPS 1.47-1.67 (exp. 1.50). (Newswires)

Nike Inc (NKE) - Q3 2025 (USD): EPS 0.54 (exp. 0.28), Revenue 11.3bln (exp. 11.01bln). Revenue breakdown. Location: North America 4.86bln, -4.1% y/y (exp. 4.47bln). EMEA 2.81bln, -10% y/y (exp. 2.78bln). Greater China 1.73bln, -17% y/y (exp. 1.84bln). Asia Pacific & Latin America 1.47bln, -11% y/y (exp. 1.51bln). Global Brands 12mln, +33% y/y (exp. 9.92mln). Segment: Footwear 7.21bln, -12% y/y (exp. 7.11bln). Apparel 3.19bln, -2.9% y/y (exp. 3bln). Equipment 477mln, -2.1% y/y (exp. 474.2mln). Converse 405mln, -18% y/y (exp. 446.2mln). Other key metrics: Gross margin 41.5% vs. 44.8% y/y (exp. 41.9%). Inventory 7.54bln, -2.4% y/y (exp. 7.48bln). Cash and cash equivalents 8.60bln, -4% y/y (exp. 7.84bln). Effective tax rate 5.9% vs. 16.5% y/y (exp. 17.8%). Guidance: Outlook for 2h of fiscal 2025 remains consistent. CFO says Q4 is to reflect largest impact from company's strategies and expects Q4 revenue to be down in mid-teens range, while expects Q4 gross margins to be down about 400-500 basis points. (Newswires)

21 Mar 2025 - 06:49- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk