Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 28th July 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks were ultimately mixed despite early tailwinds following the announcement of the US-EU trade deal, while gains were capped ahead of a slew of risk events this week and with Japan pressured amid political uncertainty. ASX 200 traded higher but with upside limited amid light catalysts and ongoing global trade uncertainty, while participants digested quarterly activity updates. Nikkei 225 wiped out its opening gains and dipped into negative territory amid political headwinds with Japan's ruling LDP said to have collected enough signatures on Friday to call a general meeting that will hold PM Ishiba accountable for the party's recent crushing election loss, while participants also brace for the BoJ policy meeting this week where analysts reportedly see the BoJ providing a less gloomy view and signalling the potential for resuming rate hikes later in the year. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed ahead of US-China trade talks in Sweden and with the trade truce expected to be extended for 90 days.

US-China - US President Trump is said to freeze export controls in order to secure a trade deal with China, according to FT. (FT)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.10% at 5,350, Dax 40 -0.26% at 24,233, FTSE 100 -0.20% at 9,120, CAC 40 +0.21% at 7,835, FTSE MIB +0.31% at 40,726, IBEX 35 -0.08% at 14,246, PSI -0.39% at 7,707, SMI -0.85% at 11,945, AEX -0.87% at 905

SECTORS: Consumer Disc 1.07%, Consumer Stpl 0.50%, Utilities 0.23%, Energy -0.16%, Financials -0.30%, Materials -0.31%, Industrials -0.36%, Healthcare -0.38%, IT -0.76%, Telecoms -0.99%

FTSE 100

Associated British Foods (ABF LN) / Premier Foods (PFD LN) - Sky News reports that ABF, through Allied Bakeries, has proposed to pay GBP 75mln to acquire Hovis. The deal is complex at this stage but could be agreed as soon as late this week, says sources. (Sky News)

Rolls Royce (RR/ LN) / Centrica (CNA LN) - Centrica is considering investing in mini nuclear power plants in the UK, attempting to participate in small modular reactors. (The Telegraph)

Smith & Nephew (SN/ LN) – Activist Investor Cevian Capital, upped its shareholding in the Co. by raising its stake to 8.5% (prev. 7.5%). (The Times)

UK Gambling - The Guardian reports that gambling lobbyists are staging a summer event, aimed at pushing back on ministers aiming to raise taxes in the sector. (Guardian)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Allianz (ALV GY) - Allianz Life says the "majority" of customers' personal data was stolen during a cyberattack, according to TechCrunch. (TechCrunch)

Bayer (BAYN GY) - Co. provides regulatory update on elinzanetant in US; FDA has notified Co. that it has continued review period for NDA for elinzanetan Extension to PDUFA review period is up to 90 days. FDA has determined additional time is needed for a full review of NDA submission, including information provided to support application. FDA did not raise any concern regarding general approvability of elinzanetant in its correspondence. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Q2 (EUR): EBITDA 108mln (prev. 102mln Y/Y). Confirms FY Guidance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Puma (PUM GY) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

CAC

French Defence - Privately listed French defence company, Naval Group, were subject to a cyber leak where its hackers reportedly stole more than 1GB of data. (FT)

LVMH (MC FP) - Co. is reportedly in discussions to sell fashion brand Marc Jacobs in a deal that could fetch around USD 1bln, according to WSJ citing sources. (WSJ)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Forvia (EO FP) - H1 (EUR): Revenue 13.5bln (prev. 13.5bln Y/Y). Affirms guidance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Trade - Autos/Semi/Pharma: EU agreed to 15% tariffs on autos, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. Aircrafts: Senior US Admin Official, on tariffs; It is likely that aircraft won't face tariffs but must wait for probe to end. Aircraft investigation is still in progress; tariff will be zero for now. Commercial aircraft sector is huge; there is a reasonable chance parties decide on a lower tariff. Wind: US President Trump said, "I say two things to Europe. Stop the windmills. You’re ruining your countries. I really mean it, it’s so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds”. Alcohol/Spirits: Spirits issue is still to be decided and the US did not include it due to large EU agricultural surpluses. (Newswires)

Banco Sabadell (SAB SM) – CEO said a takeover offer by BBVA (BBVA SM) remains too low and sees little prospect for plans to create a Spanish banking powerhouse. (Bloomberg)

Banking Names - Mexico antitrust watchdog alleges 21 banks and financial institutions fixed fees for deferred credit card payments; banks notified by COFECE over probe finding include Mexico units of HSBC (HSBA LN), Santander (SAN SM), and Scotiabank. (Newswires)

Heineken (HEIA NA) - H1 (EUR): Adj. Op. Income 2.03bln (exp. 2.01bln), Revenue 16.9bln (exp. 16.9bln), Organic Revenue +2.1% (exp. +1.3%), Organic Beer Volume -0.4% (exp. +0.68%). Affirms outlook. Expects gross savings to exceed EUR 500mln in 2025. CFO says there will be some impact on profit of US operations from tariffs. (Newswires)

Iveco (IVG IM) - Co. is reportedly in advanced talks to sell defense arm to Leonardo (LDO IM), according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

MFE (MFEB IM) / Prosiebensat 1 Media (PSM GY) - MFE to up its offer consideration for its voluntary takeover offer to the shareholders of Prosiben. Increase to EUR 4.48/shr in cash plus 1.3 MFE A share. (Newswires)

Weight-loss names - The National Pharmacy Association said demand for weight loss drugs is becoming "unsustainable" and that it may need to be restricted to the most "overweight". (The Guardian) Of note for Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) / Eli Lily (LLY)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Roche (ROG SW) - Roche plans a late-stage trial to test whether its experimental drug can prevent or delay Alzheimer’s symptoms in high-risk individuals, targeting cognitive decline, Bloomberg reports. It marks Roche’s continued effort in the challenging Alzheimer’s drug development field, where success rates have been low. Elsewhere, Co. said a boy passed away in Brazil was treated with Sarepta's (SRPT) Elevidys and was not a participant in a clinical trial; physician assessed the death to be unrelated to the treatment. (Newswires / Bloomberg)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Julius Baer (BAER SW) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

Swatch (UHR SW) downgraded to Reduce from Hold at HSBC

Richemont (CFR SW) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.40% at 6,389, NDX +0.23% at 23,272, DJI +0.47% at 44,902, RUT +0.40% at 2,261.

SECTORS: Materials +1.17%, Industrials +0.98%, Consumer Discretionary +0.78%, Financials +0.72%, Health +0.50%, Utilities +0.26%, Technology +0.24%, Consumer Staples +0.14%, Real Estate +0.01%, Communication Services -0.19%, Energy -0.40%

Huawei - Huawei unveiled its CloudMatrix 384 AI computing system at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, which experts say rivals Nvidia’s (NVDA) most advanced GB200 NVL72 system. The CloudMatrix 384 uses 384 Huawei 910C chips and outperforms Nvidia on some metrics by leveraging system-level design and “supernode” architecture for high-speed chip interconnection despite weaker individual chip performance. (Newswires)

Sarepta (SRPT) - The FDA is investigating the June 7th death of an 8yr old boy who received Sarepta's gene therapy treatment Elevidys. Sarepta has voluntarily suspended distribution during the probe. Sarepta said the death of the child treated with Elevidys was deemed unrelated to the therapy, noting that it reported the event to the FDA in June. Elsewhere, Sarepta said a boy passed away in Brazil was treated with its Elevidys and was not a participant in a clinical trial; physician assessed the death to be unrelated to the treatment. (Newswires)

Samsung (SSNLF), Tesla (TSLA) - Samsung will produce Tesla’s next-gen AI6 chips under a USD 16.5bln deal running through 2033. The chips will be made at Samsung’s new Taylor, Texas plant. The agreement marks a major win for Samsung’s foundry division, which has lagged rivals in recent years. (Newswires)

Tesla (TSLA) - Tesla received several shareholder proposals about its planned investment in Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI, which raised USD 10bln this year through debt and equity. Musk ruled out a Tesla-xAI merger but will hold a shareholder vote on the investment ahead of the annual meeting on November 6th. Separately, Tesla updated Robotaxi app users with new terms of service ahead of its planned launch in California, stating rides will operate under tighter state oversight; in the Bay Area, trips will include a safety driver using supervised full self-driving technology. (Newswires)

28 Jul 2025 - 06:52- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk