Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 29th September 2025

ASIA

US-South Korea - South Korea rejected a US request for USD 350bln in cash under a tariff-reduction deal, a senior official said, according to Reuters. (Newswires)

US-India - A US official said India trade talks are on a positive track but stressed that India needs to address US market access concerns, the trade deficit, and purchases of Russian oil, according to Reuters. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.97% at 5,498, Dax 40 +0.84% at 23,733, FTSE 100 +0.77% at 9,285, CAC 40 +0.97% at 7,871, FTSE MIB +0.96% at 42,646, IBEX 35 +1.28% at 15,348, PSI +0.49% at 7,953, SMI +0.38% at 11,921, AEX +0.43% at 938

SECTORS: Financials 1.54%, Energy 1.37%, Consumer Disc 1.00%, Industrials 0.93%, Utilities 0.70%, Telecoms 0.59%, Materials 0.53%, Consumer Stpl 0.14%, Healthcare 0.09%, IT -0.33%

FTSE 100

UK Fiscal - UK Chancellor Reeves risks a confrontation with the head of the government’s fiscal watchdog over plans to scrap her annual spring forecast, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

UK Pharma - Britain would face 100% tariffs on US pharmaceuticals under US President Trump’s latest plan, according to Reuters citing sources. (Newswires) The UK will offer to pay more for drugs in a bid to placate US President Trump and pharmaceutical groups, according to the FT. (FT)

UK Steel - The EU is plotting a “devastating tariff hit” against UK steelmakers, with officials in Brussels aiming to halve the UK’s tariff-free quotas and double tariffs to 50% under pressure from steel industries in member states, according to The Times. (Times)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Admiral Group (ADM LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

Rentokil (RTO LN) initiated with Sell at Berenberg.

DAX

Lufthansa (LHA GY) - Capital Markets Day update. New medium-term financial targets for 2028-2030: 8-10% adj. EBIT margin, 15-20% adj. RoCE, over EUR 2.5bln in adj. FCF/yr. Looking to reduce 4k administration jobs by 2030, via digitalization, automation, and process consolidation. Over 230 new craft by 2030, including 100 long haul. (Lufthansa)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) / Air France KLM (AF FP) - Companies to face retrial in Paris appeals court over Rio-Paris crash in 2009. A French court originally cleared the companies of involuntary manslaughter in April 2023. (Newswires)

TotalEnergies (TTE FP) - Dangote has asked Nigerian authorities to intervene after the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association directed members at TotalEnergies, Seplat (SEPL) and Chevron (CVX) to shut crude and gas supplies to its refinery in protest over layoffs linked to union membership. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Ubisoft (UBI FP) - Electronic Arts (EA) is nearing a circa USD 50bln deal to go private, WSJ reported. (WSJ)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Automakers - Goldman Sachs has raised price targets on Ford (F), GM (GM), Rivian (RIVN), Lear (LEA), BorgWarner (BWA), Magna (MGA), Gentex (GNTX), Visteon (VC), Sensata (ST), TE Connectivity (TEL), Amphenol (APH), Mobileye (MBLY), Vertiv (VRT); the bank's analysts raised its 2025 US auto forecast to 16.2mln vehicles (prev. saw 15.75mln), and its 2026 view to 16.0mln units (prev. saw 15.5mln), citing strong year-to-date sales, positive leading indicators, and “relatively benign” industry pricing amid tariffs, while lowering its 2026+ U.S. battery electric vehicle mix assumptions. (Newswires)

Banking Names - ECB is in talks with major banks, including Deutsche Bank (DBK GY), BNP Paribas (BNP FP), Credit Agricole (ACA FP), and Societe Generale (GLE FP), about easing extra capital requirements for lenders using India’s sovereign bond clearing house. (Bloomberg)

Chip Tariffs - Trump admin reportedly considers tariffs on foreign electronic devices based on the number of chips in each device, according to Reuters sources. (Newswires)

Defence Stocks - EU to draw up plans to build and help finance interlinked drone defences across the entire continent's borders and critical infrastructure, FT reported. (FT)

EU Pharma - The White House will honour a 15% cap on pharmaceutical tariffs as part of trade deals with the EU and Japan, according to CNBC. (CNBC)

Housing Names - Portugal is set to increase taxes on foreign home buyers. (Newswires)

Inditex SA (ITX SM), AB Foods (ABF LN) - Inditex plans to bring its low-cost brand Lefties to the UK, aiming to compete with AB Food's Primark. Inditex is considering at least four 20,000sqft. locations, including Lakeside and Bluewater shopping centres, as well as sites on London’s Oxford Street and Westfield London, via Bloomberg citing sources. (Bloomberg)

Spanish Stocks - Moody's upgraded Spain to A3, outlook stable. Fitch upgraded Spain to A, outlook stable. (Moody's/Fitch)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Chrysler is recalling 123.4k US vehicles, via NHTSA; due to detached trim pieces creating a road hazard for other vehicles. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

ASML Holdings (ASML NA) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Mizuho.

SMI

Housing Names - Switzerland voted to abolish property taxation. (Newswires)

UBS (UBSG SW) - Swiss People's Party's Aeschi said Switzerland needs to come to a compromise with UBS on increasing capital requirements. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Genmab (GMAB DC) - To acquire Merus for USD 8bln or USD 97/shr, representing a 41% premium. Deal expected to be accretive to EBITDA by 2029. Acquisition expands the late-stage pipeline and accelerates into a wholly owned model. Conference call on the deal at 12:00BST today. (Genmab)

BROKER MOVES

Novo Nordisk A/S (NOVOB DC) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Stora Enso (STERV FH) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BNP Paribas.

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.59% at 6,644, NDX +0.44% at 24,504, DJI +0.65% at 46,247, RUT +0.97% at 2,434.

SECTORS: Consumer Staples -0.11%, Communication Services +0.13%, Technology +0.21%, Financials +0.71%, Industrials +0.87%, Energy +0.97%, Health +0.98%, Materials +1.05%, Real Estate +1.05%, Consumer Discretionary +1.45%, Utilities +1.59%.

US Government Shutdown - Congress must pass a funding bill by Tuesday, or a US government shutdown will begin Wednesday, the first day of the 2026 fiscal year. A shutdown could potentially delay Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, and therefore, traders may place added attention on the JOLTs data (Tuesday) and ADP private payrolls data (on Wednesday), as traders gauge the performance of the labour market in the context of the Fed's interest rate trajectory. Negotiations are ongoing, with markets assuming any shutdown will be short and payroll data eventually released before the October Fed meeting.

Apple (AAPL) - Chinese factory workers are facing harsh conditions while racing to produce Apple’s new iPhone 17 lineup, according to China Labour Watch. (Newswires)

Electronic Arts (EA) - Co. is near a roughly USD 50bln deal to go private, according to WSJ. (WSJ)

Occidental (OXY) - Occidental is in talks to sell its OxyChem unit in a deal valuing the business at a minimum of USD 10bln, FT reports. A divestment could be announced in the coming weeks if no last-minute issues arise. (FT)

TikTok - US Vice President JD Vance said he is confident the US has separated TikTok from ByteDance, according to Reuters. (Newswires)

29 Sep 2025 - 06:55- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk