Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 22nd May 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks were on the back foot following the sell-off on Wall St where stocks, treasuries and the dollar were pressured amid deficit concerns and a weak 20-year auction. ASX 200 retreated with energy and tech front-running the declines, although continued strength in gold producers atoned for some of the losses. Nikkei 225 gapped beneath the 37,000 level amid a firmer currency and proceeded in a somewhat choppy fashion as participants also digested data releases, including a surprise surge in Japanese Machinery Orders and mixed PMI figures. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the downbeat sentiment in the absence of any fresh bullish catalysts and after recent earnings results failed to inspire, while the mainland initially showed resilience in early trade before succumbing to the broad risk-off mood.

Lenovo (992 HK) - FY24/25 (USD) net 1.38bln (exp. 1.48bln), rev. 69.1bln (prev. 67.8bln). (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.34 % at 24,118, FTSE 100: +0.04 % at 8,785, CAC 40: -0.40 % at 7,910, Euro Stoxx 50: -0.05 % at 5,452, AEX: +0.24 % at 933, IBEX 35: -0.07 % at 14,313, FTSE MIB: +0.01 % at 40,527, SMI: -0.34 % at 12,378, PSI: -0.26 % at 7,358

SECTORS: IT 0.66%, Telecoms 0.65%, Consumer Stpl 0.42%, Healthcare 0.18%, Utilities 0.02%, Financials -0.09%, Industrials -0.16%, Materials -0.38%, Consumer Disc -0.84%, Energy -0.88%

FTSE 100

BAE Systems (BA/ LN) - BAE was awarded a USD 423.35mln US Army contract for self-propelled howitzer systems production. (Newswires)

BP (BP/ LN) - Co. entered into a long term LNG sale and purchase agreement with Zhejiang Energy and under the agreement, BP will provide Zhejiang Energy with up to approximately 1mln tonnes per annum of LNG for over 10 years on a delivered ex-ship basis. (Newswires)

Diageo (DGE LN) - Co. and NewPrinces say the proposed Italian site sale has achieved milestone; NewPrinces to take over site (as expected). (Newswires)

Ex-Dividends - Bunzl (BNZL LN), Kingfisher (KGF LN), Imperial Brands (IMB LN), Whitbread (WTB LN), DCC (DCC LN) will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend payout. (dividenddata)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Rio Tinto to start early works to increase Amrun mine's bauxite production, aiming for first output by 2029 with the Kangwinan project to nearly double Weipa Southern operations’ capacity by +20mln tonnes. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Johnson Matthey (JMT LN), Honeywell (HON) - Honeywell is nearing a GBP 1.8bln deal to acquire Johnson Matthey’s catalyst unit, FT reports. Johnson Matthey, which is facing activist pressure and underperformance, confirmed talks were advanced. The move aligns with Honeywell’s automation focus, and follows other recent US acquisitions of UK assets. (FT)

BROKER MOVES

Sainsbury’s (SBRY LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies

Marks & Spencer (MKS LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Freenet (FNTN GY) - Q1 (EUR): Revenue 604.4mln (exp. 638mln). Confirms FY25 guidance. (Newswires) Shares -4.1% in pre-market trade

Strabag (STB1 GY) - Q1 Trading Update (EUR): Output Volume 3.72bln, +7.8% Y/Y. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Credit Agricole (ACA FP) - Co. and Crelan Group announce the signing of agreement for a long-term partnership; Credit Agricole to obtain minority stake of 9.9% in Crelan. Will have non-material impact on Credit Agricole's CET1 ratio. (Newswires)

LVMH (MC FP) - CEO says producing locally in US is advantage for them; Europe must reach trade agreement with US, but things aren't looking good; there must be concessions on both sides Europe must be more constructive on trade talks with US. Reportedly warns of continued luxury weakness amid China woes. (Newswires)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Sanofi will acquire Vigil Neuroscience for USD 470mln, paying USD 8/shr plus a USD 2/shr contingent value linked to an Alzheimer's drug. The deal is expected to close in Q3, and aims to strengthen Sanofi’s neurological pipeline without affecting its 2025 outlook. Vigil’s antibody program will return to Amgen (AMGN). (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Generali (G IM) - Q1 (EUR): Adj. Net Income 1.20bln (exp. 1.11bln), Op. Income 2.07bln (exp. 2.03bln), GWP 26.5bln (exp. 27.6bln). AuM 656.3bln (prev. 863bln Y/Y). Targets FY25-27 share buybacks of more than EUR 1.5bln. (Newswires)

Telefonica (TEF SM) - Co. reached agreement to sell Uruguay unit to Milicom Spain for USD 440mln. (Newswires)

MFE (MFEA IM) - Q1 (EUR): Group Advertising Revenue 662.2mln, -1.1% Y/Y, EBIT 114.8mln (prev. 140.4mln Y/Y). Confirms FY guidance. (Newswires)

Orlen (PKN PW) - Q1 (PLN): Net Profit 4.28bln (exp. 4.67bln), Revenue 73.54bln (exp. 69.42bln). (Newswires)

Retailers - Nike (NKE) is set to raise prices on a number of products; Urban Outfitters (URBN) also plans to “gently and sparingly” raise prices if needed to offset trade tensions. see US section below for details.

UniCredit (UCG IM) - Italy has no intention of reviewing conditions set for UniCredit bid over Banco BPM (BAMI IM). (Newswires)

Vaccine / Pesticide names - US HHS Secretary's widely anticipated “Make America Healthy Again” report is expected to criticize food additives, lobbyists and vaccines, but go easier than expected on pesticides in farming, according to WSJ citing sources. (WSJ) Potentially of note for BASF (BAS GY) / Bayer (BAYN GY)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Baloise (BALN SW) - FY24/25 Trading Update (CHF): Net Investment Income 286mln despite market volatility. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Sandoz (SDZ SW) - Sandoz launches Pyzchiva autoinjector, first commercially available in Europe for ustekinumab biosimilars. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Sonova (SOON SW) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

SCANDINAVIA

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Co. awarded SEK 1.7bln for Prague bypass contract. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Equinor (EQNR NO) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.61% at 5,845, NDX -1.34% at 21,080, DJI -1.91% at 41,860, RUT -2.8% at 2,047.

SECTORS: Real Estate -2.63%, Health -2.37%, Financials -2.05%, Consumer Discretionary -1.91%, Utilities -1.91%, Energy -1.80%, Technology -1.78%, Industrials -1.68%, Materials -1.24%, Consumer Staples -0.92%, Communication Services +0.67%

Medicare Advantage Audits - CMS announced a major expansion of Medicare Advantage audits, aiming to review all eligible contracts, speed up audits from 2018–2024, and recover past overpayments in coordination with HHS Office of Inspector General. Additional resources will be deployed to accelerate audit completion. Shares of Humana (HUM), UnitedHealth (UNH), CVS Health (CVS), and Elevance (ELV) fell in afterhours trade on news that the CMS will significantly expand Medicare Advantage audits, targeting all eligible contracts and accelerating audits from 2018-2024.

Nike (NKE) - Nike will raise prices next week, increasing adult apparel and equipment by USD 2-10, with a USD 5.00 hike for items priced between USD 100-150; shoes over USD 150 may rise up to USD 10. Children’s products and Air Force 1 shoes are exempt. Nike also plans to resume selling directly on Amazon (AMZN) in the US after six years. (Newswires)

Snowflake (SNOW) - Snowflake shares rise over 7% after topping USD 1bln in quarterly revenue for first time and issuing upbeat outlook. It reported Q1 adj. EPS of 0.24 (exp. 0.21), Q1 revenue of USD 1.04bln (exp. 1.00bln). Q1 product revenue +26% Y/Y at USD 996.8mln. Q1 RPO at USD 6.7bln. CEO highlights strength in analytics and AI opportunity. Sees Q2 product revenue 1.035-1.04bln (+25% Y/Y), and raises its FY25 product revenue view to USD 4.325bln (prev. 4.28bln). (Newswires)

Urban Outfitters (URBN) - Shares rose after Q1 results beat estimates, driven by a sales rebound at its stores. The company noted limited tariff impact so far and plans to “gently and sparingly” raise prices if needed to offset trade tensions. It reported Q1 EPS 1.16 (exp. 0.83), revenue USD 1.33bln (exp. 1.29bln). Total retail segment net sales rose 6.4%, with comparable retail segment net sales up 4.8%. Exec highlighted record revenues and profits, driven by broad sales growth and improved profitability. (Newswires)

US Budget - US President Trump said he was feeling very good about the bill in Congress; US House Speaker Johnson said on Wednesday that they were yet to decide on a vote on the tax bill that night or on Thursday but added that the Trump tax bill is moving forward. (Newswires)

22 May 2025 - 06:58- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk