Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 25th June 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks traded stronger following the firm lead from Wall Street, with gains capped as traders were cautious amid the fragility of the Israel-Iran ceasefire. From a central bank perspective, some attention in US hours was on Fed Chair Powell, who echoed his wait-and-see stance but left July options open during the Q&A. Thereafter, sentiment in APAC trade was somewhat capped after BoJ taper-dissenter Tamura struck a hawkish tone, suggesting the BoJ may need to raise rates decisively—even amid high uncertainty—if upward price risks heighten. He also noted that he does not see 0.5% as a barrier for BoJ rate hikes. ASX 200 fluctuated between modest gains and losses before a sub-forecast Aussie Monthly CPI print provided a mild boost. The monthly gauge came in at 2.1%, towards the bottom end of the RBA’s 2–3% target range, though market pricing barely shifted. Nikkei 225 saw choppy trade in limited ranges following commentary from BoJ’s Tamura, who said he does not see 0.5% as a ceiling for rate hikes. On the trade front, FBN's Gasparino suggested progress in US-Japan trade talks. The BoJ Summary of Opinions noted that the effects of tariff policies are likely yet to materialise.

China Gold Miners - Chinese state-owned Shandong Gold Group is seeking up to USD 600mln in loans to capitalise on soaring gold prices, after issuing USD 400mln in bonds last month. The move reflects a broader trend of Chinese gold miners raising offshore capital amid a bullish outlook for the precious metal, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

China Copper Exporters - Chinese copper smelters, including Jiangxi Copper and Tongling Nonferrous Metals, are increasing exports by at least 30k tons to LME warehouses in Asia to cover positions amid a historic copper market squeeze, Bloomberg reports. Shipments may rise if the supply tightness continues. (Bloomberg)

Japan Aluminium - Some Japanese aluminium buyers agreed to pay a Q3 premium of USD 108/ton, down 41% from USD 182/t in Q2, marking a second consecutive quarterly decline, Reuters reports. This is below producers’ initial offers of USD 122-145/ton. Japan’s premiums set the regional benchmark over the LME cash price.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +1.61 % at 23,644, FTSE 100: +0.01 % at 8,759, CAC 40: +1.04 % at 7,616, Euro Stoxx 50: +1.51 % at 5,301, AEX: +0.85 % at 925, IBEX 35: +1.44 % at 14,039, FTSE MIB: +1.63 % at 39,474, SMI: +1.13 % at 11,989, PSI: +0.57 % at 7,452

SECTORS: IT 2.49%, Financials 2.15%, Materials 1.97%, Telecoms 1.34%, Consumer Disc 1.23%, Industrials 1.15%, Healthcare 0.75%, Consumer Stpl 0.33%, Utilities 0.16%, Energy -3.62%

FTSE 100

Aviva Plc (AV/ LN) - Aviva Plc’s investment arm is seeking a partner to raise about EUR 150mln to expand its Spanish rental housing portfolio, which includes around 1,000 units across Madrid, Barcelona, and Palma de Mallorca. Savills has been appointed to manage the capital raise amid Spain’s acute housing shortage. (Bloomberg)

AB Foods (ABF LN) - Co. postpones UK bioethanol plant closure decision by 24 hours, in hopes that the UK will step in to support the plant from closing down. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

WPP (WPP LN) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Evotec (EVT GY) - Joins Nurture-Aki consortium to gain multi-omics-based molecular understanding of acute kidney injury. (Newswires)

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Received orders from UKA for wind turbines totalling 435 MW in Germany. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Porsche AG (P911 GY) initiated with Sector Perform at RBC

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) / Boeing (BA) - EU warns a baseline Trump tariff would still spur retaliation, according to Bloomberg; EU retaliatory tariffs on US imports could include Boeing aircraft. EU’s industry chief, Sejourne said “We will need to retaliate and rebalance in some key sectors if the US insists on an asymmetrical deal". (Bloomberg)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Riliprubart earns orphan drug designation in the US for antibody-mediated rejection in solid organ transplantation. Ongoing phase 2 study evaluating riliprubart for the potential prevention and treatment of active antibody-mediated rejection in kidney transplant recipients. (Sanofi)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Arkema (AKE FP) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan

PAN EUROPE

Autos - EU new car registrations fell 0.6% in Jan–May period; electric-vehicle market share at 58.9% of new registrations in EU; Tesla (TSLA) May EU new car registrations fell 40.5% according to ACEA. (Newswires)

Postal Names - FedEx (FDX) shares fell almost 6% in extended trading after it guided Q1 adj. EPS below expectations, citing tariff uncertainty and weak demand. It also withheld its FY outlook, and said it would provide further disclosures as its visibility improves. See US section below for details

Mediobanca (MB IM) - Vittora Assicurazioni has sold its entire stake in Mediobanca; previously held 0.27% stake. (Newswires)

TomTom (TOM2 NA) - NextBillion.AI selects TomTom Orbis Maps to deliver enterprise-grade solutions globally. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

ASR Nederland (ASRNL NA) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

Stellantis (STLAM IM / STLAP FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies; analysts write that data suggests that the latest "earnings slide is about to turn".

SMI

Novartis (NOVN SW) - Announces expiration of Regulus Therapeutics tender offer. Deal is expected to close June 25, 2025. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +1.11% at 6,092, NDX +1.53% at 22,191, DJI +1.19% at 43,089, RUT +1.34% at 2,161

SECTORS: Energy -1.51%, Consumer Staples -0.03%, Utilities +0.40%, Real Estate +0.41%, Consumer Discretionary +0.71%, Materials +0.75%, Industrials +0.86%, Health +1.19%, Communication Services +1.39%, Financials +1.50%, Technology +1.61%.

BlackBerry (BB) - Q1 adj. EPS 0.02 (exp. 0.00), Q1 revenue USD 121.7mln (exp. 112.2mln). Executed USD 10mln share buybacks in the quarter. CEO highlights strong QNX and Secure Communications execution. Sees Q2 adj. EPS between 0.00–0.01 (exp. 0.01), Q2 revenue between USD 115–125mln (exp. 122.4mln). Raises FY26 revenue view to USD 508–538mln (prev. saw 504–534mln; exp. 513.1mln), backs FY26 adj. EPS outlook at between 0.08–0.10 (exp. 0.10). (Newswires)

FedEx (FDX) - Shares fell almost 6% in extended trading after it guided Q1 adj. EPS below expectations, citing tariff uncertainty and weak demand. It also withheld its FY outlook, and said it would provide further disclosures as its visibility improves. It reported Q4 adj. EPS of 6.07 (exp. 5.87), and Q1 revenue of USD 21.86bln (exp. 22.22bln); results included a noncash impairment charge of USD 21mln. It said China exposure and end of duty-free status hit volumes. Sees Q1 adj. EPS between 3.40-4.00 (exp. 4.06), and sees Q1 revenue growth flat to +2% Y/Y. FY26 capex seen at USD 4.5bln; expects USD 1bln in permanent cost reductions from DRIVE and Network 2.0. Warns China-US volumes dropped post-April tariffs, with soft demand continuing into May and Q4. International export revenue flat Y/Y, impacted by transpacific weakness. (Newswires)

Hims & Hers Health (HIMS), Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - Hims & Hers CEO said the company won’t back down from selling low-cost weight-loss shots after Novo Nordisk ended their distribution deal. CEO stressed commitment to customers, rejecting pressure from pharma companies and pledging to continue fighting for affordable options. (Newswires) 

25 Jun 2025 - 06:42- MetalsResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk