Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 25th August 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks began the week on the front foot as the region took its opportunity to react to the dovish comments by Fed Chair Powell at Jackson Hole on Friday, in which he signalled the potential for a September rate cut as he noted that the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting policy. ASX 200 rallied to a fresh record high at the open but gave back a majority of the early gains as participants also digested a slew of earnings releases. Nikkei 225 advanced at the open but then lost steam and faded most of the early upward momentum to return to beneath the 43,000 level with headwinds from last Friday's currency strength and with some hawkish-leaning comments from BoJ Governor Ueda at Jackson Hole who expects a tightening job market to push up wages. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp outperformed with the advances in Hong Kong led by property, mining and tech, while the mainland was also lifted after China's State Council called for efforts to bolster overall coordination and refine implementation mechanisms of large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs to better leverage their role in boosting domestic demand. Furthermore, participants digested several earnings releases and the PBoC announced last Friday to conduct CNY 600bln of 1-year MLF loans for today.

Chinese Houses - Shanghai lifts home buying limit in the outer suburbs effective August 26th, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.39% at 5,483, Dax 40 +0.32% at 24,371, FTSE 100 +0.13% at 9,321, CAC 40 +0.40% at 7,970, FTSE MIB +0.69% at 43,310, IBEX 35 +0.61% at 15,397, PSI -0.50% at 7,980, SMI +0.25% at 12,272, AEX +0.59% at 913.

SECTORS: Consumer Disc 1.48%, IT 1.29%, Materials 1.07%, Industrials 0.81%, Energy 0.68%, Financials 0.18%, Telecoms 0.15%, Healthcare -0.02%, Utilities -0.26%, Consumer Stpl -0.62% 

FTSE 100

BP (BP/ LN) - The Whiting refinery team continues to work on clearing surrounding public roadways. BP will monitor the Whiting refinery situation closely to maintain the safety of employees, the community and the environment. (Newswires)

GSK (GSK LN) - Announces launch of Jemperli in and Zerula in India. (Newswires)

HSBC (HSBA LN) - HSBC Swiss unit reduces the number of wealthy Middle Eastern clients amidst regulatory inspection, according to FT. (FT)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Rio Tinto reported a fatal incident at its SimFer mine in Simandou, Guinea, where a contractor employee died on August 22nd. All operations at the site are suspended, with support provided to colleagues affected by the event. (Newswires)

UK Inflation - Citi/YouGov Poll (Aug.): UK longer-term inflation expectations 3.9% (prev. 4.2%), short-term expectations unchanged at 4.0%. (Newswires)

UK Gas / Data Centre - The FT writes that data centre developers are mulling setting up large data centres in the UK, to link them up to the country's main gas pipelines. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

RWE (RWE GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux

CAC

Orange (ORA FP) - Ransomware hack hit Orange telecom and data published on dark web, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Autos - South Africa's largest union agreed an above-inflation wage increase on behalf of its 90k members in the autos industry, via Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Argenx (ARGX BB) - Announces positive topline results from ADAPT SERON study of VYVGART in patients with AChR-Ab Seronegative gMG. (Newswires)

JDE Peet's (JDEP NA) / Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) - Keurig Dr Pepper is nearing a USD 18bln deal to acquire European coffee company JDE Peet’s, with plans to later separate its beverage and coffee divisions, effectively reversing the 2018 Keurig-Dr Pepper merger, WSJ reports. (WSJ)

Italian Banks - Italy’s deputy PM Antonio Tajani said he opposes a windfall tax on banks, stating that while banks should pay taxes, they should not be “surprised or scolded,” amid government debate over the issue under PM Giorgia Meloni, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

Mediobanca (MB IM) - Gavio Group sold 2.09mln Mediobanca shares, the entire stake meaning is no longer part of the agreement; Sinpar sold 1mln shares and Sereco sold 2.35mln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Orsted (ORSTED DC) - Orsted Revolution Wind receives an offshore stop-work order from the US BOEM, suggesting it needed to address concerns related to the Trump administration’s offshore wind review. Co. says it complies with order and ensure workers safety; are evaluation options including legal proceedings. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +1.52% at 6,467, NDX +1.54% at 23,498, DJI +1.89% at 45,632, RUT +3.86% at 2,362.

SECTORS: Consumer Discretionary +3.18%, Energy +1.99%, Communication Services +1.87%, Materials +1.70%, Financials +1.65%, Real Estate +1.62%, Industrials +1.62%, Technology +1.32%, Health +0.82%, Utilities +0.53%, Consumer Staples -0.35%

Apple (AAPL) - Co. reportedly explores using Google (GOOGL) Gemini AI to power revamped Siri, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Coca-Cola (KO) - Coca-Cola is reviewing strategic options for its British coffee chain Costa, including a potential sale. Initial talks with select bidders, including private equity firms, have begun. Indicative offers are expected in early Autumn, though a sale is not certain. Coca-Cola acquired Costa in 2018 for over USD 5bln. (Newswires)

Intel (INTC) - The US government confirmed on late Friday that it will take a 10% stake in Intel, via an USD 8.9bln investment, funded through unpaid CHIPS Act grants. President Trump hailed it as a “great deal”. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reaffirmed commitment to US chipmaking amid scrutiny over China links.

Meta Platforms (META) - Meta Platforms has partnered with Midjourney to license its aesthetic technology for future AI models and products. The collaboration involves joint research efforts aimed at integrating Midjourney’s expertise to enhance the visual quality and design capabilities across Meta’s platforms. (Newswires)

US Debt - A paper presented at the Fed's Jackson Hole conference suggested US government debt could rise to 250% of GDP without triggering higher interest rates. The authors noted a balance between growing asset demand from an aging population and the debt issuance needed to fund increased government spending, pending fiscal consolidation.

25 Aug 2025 - 06:58- Fixed IncomeResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk