Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 4th April 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks resumed the post-Liberation Day selling after Wall St suffered its worst loss since 2020, while fresh drivers are light amid the Greater China holiday closures and with participants now awaiting US jobs data. ASX 200 re-entered correction territory with the declines led by heavy losses in tech and energy in which the latter was pressured after oil prices fell by around 7% amid tariff turmoil and news that OPEC+ decided to increase output by a larger-than-scheduled 411k barrels per day in May. Nikkei 225 sold off again and fell below the USD 34,000 level with better-than-expected Household Spending data doing little to spur a recovery. KOSPI was initially choppy but ultimately weakened after the Constitutional Court upheld President Yoon's impeachment which sparked some angry protests and triggered an election to be held within 60 days.

Nissan (7201 JT) - Nissan has paused new orders for the QX50 and QX55 SUVs built in Mexico, citing the impact of US President Trump's tariffs on car imports. The company also reversed plans to cut output of its Rogue model at its Tennessee plant as part of a broader restructuring effort. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: -3.08% at 21,700, FTSE 100: -1.55% at 8,475, CAC 40: -3.31% at 7,599, Euro Stoxx 50: -3.57% at 5,115, AEX: -2.67% at 877, IBEX 35: -1.02% at 13,215, FTSE MIB: -3.60% at 37,071, SMI: -2.34% at 12,272, PSI: +0.13% at 6,967

SECTORS: Utilities 2.96%, Consumer Stpl 1.14%, Telecoms 0.69%, Healthcare -0.94%, Materials -3.35%, Industrials -3.47%, Consumer Disc -3.99%, Financials -4.04%, Energy -5.41%, IT -5.54%

FTSE 100

GSK (GSK LN) / Pfizer (PFE) - The Co's have agreed to end a patent-related lawsuit regarding RSV vaccines, details suggest that it cannot be refiled. (Newswires)

Glencore (GLEN LN) - Co. said that it has approached the Australian Government seeking a bailout for local copper assets. (Newswires)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Rio Tinto increased its Australian supplier spend to AUD 17.7bln in 2024, up 9.9% Y/Y. The company spent over AUD 926mln with 182 Indigenous businesses (+27% Y/Y), and AUD 671mln with Traditional Owner businesses. Local supplier spending rose +14.8% Y/Y to AUD 1.3bln. (Newswires)

Shell (SHEL LN), Colonial Enterprises, Brookfield (BAM) - Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is set to acquire Colonial Pipeline, the largest US fuel transportation system, in a deal valued at approximately USD 9bln including debt. The acquisition includes all Colonial Enterprises assets, with the deal expected to close in H2 2025. Shell will sell its stake in Colonial to a Brookfield subsidiary for USD 1.45bln as part of the transaction. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Investment of USD 580mln in Argentina. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Gerresheimer (GXI GY) - KKR drops out of a consortium seeking a Gerresheimer takeover, according to Bloomberg. The source adds that Warburg Pincus is still working to see if it can reach a deal. (Bloomberg) Gerresheimer shares seen -4% in pre-market trade

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Carrefour (CA FP) - Carrefour has upped its offer by around 10% as it aims take its Brazilian unit private; offer increased to BRL 8.50/shr (prev. BRL 7.70/shr). (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Alstom (ALO FP) - Reports Q4 large orders of EUR 1.60bln. (Newswires)

Sodexo (SW FP) - H1 (EUR): Revenue 12.5bln (prelim. 12.5bln). Affirms guidance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Danone (BN FP) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

PAN EUROPE

Trade - US Commerce Secretary Lutnick says no chance US President Trump will back off tariffs; Trump will negotiate only if other countries fix their tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Washington's Post Jeff Stein on X, says "The White House's internal talking points tell surrogates that Trump's new global tariff regime should NOT be characterized as a starting point for negotiations", sources say. US President Trump, when asked about tariffs and market response, says operation is over, now it settles in; Open to tariff negotiations if other countries offer something phenomenal. Canadian government official says tariffs on US autos announced on Thursday will apply to CAD 35.6bln worth of imports. Canadian PM Carney says Canada will impose 25% tariffs on all vehicles imported from the US that are not compliant with the USMCA trade deal. (Newswires)

Cellnex (CLNX SM) - Co. to propose max distribution of dividend of EUR 1.03bln, during 2026 and 2027, part of this could also be in 2025. (Newswires)

Eni (ENI IM) - Board of Directors resolves to propose to shareholders' meeting new buyback program; intends to launch new buyback program in 2025 for an amount of EUR 1.5bln. (Newswires)

Generali (G IM) / UniCredit (UCG IM) - Generali CEO said there will be no showdown with the Government over a Natixis deal. Co. could extend collaborations with UniCredit beyond the existing ones, according to Reuters citing Corriere Della Serra. (Newswires)

Stellantis (STLAM IM / STLAP FP) - Co. says it will idle its Warren, Michigan truck assembly plant for several weeks from April 14th because of an engine shortage. Elsewhere, Fitch downgrades Stellantis to BBB (prev. BBB+); outlook stable. Fitch says downgrade reflects worsening market conditions in NA and increased cost pressures due to recently imposed tariffs. (Newswires)

Luxury / Prada (PRDSY) - Prada reportedly nearing deal for Versace and Jimmy Choo, according to WWD citing sources. (WWD)

BROKER MOVES

ABN AMRO (ABN NA) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

ASML (ASML NA) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Santander

Generali (G IM) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Leonardo (LDO IM) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Nestle (NESN SW) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

SCANDINAVIA

Volvo AB (VOLVB SS) - Mexican Economy Minister Ebrary says Volvo is upping its previously reported USD 700mln investment in Nuevo Leon to USD 1bln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Norsk Hydro (NHY NO) upgraded to Hold from Sell at SEB

Swedbank (SWEDA SS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

US

CLOSES: SPX -4.84% at 5,397, NDX -5.41% at 18,521, DJI -3.98% at 40,546, RUT -6.59% at 1,911

SECTORS: Energy -7.51%, Technology -6.86%, Consumer Discretionary -6.45%, Industrials -5.41%, Financials -5.01%, Communication Services -4.77%, Materials -4.19%, Real Estate -2.98%, Health -0.79%, Utilities -0.61%, Consumer Staples +0.69%.

ByteDance, AppLovin (APP) - AppLovin has submitted a preliminary bid for TikTok’s assets outside China ahead of the April 5th deadline. Amazon (AMZN) and a consortium led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely have also entered the bidding race. The White House is heavily involved in deal talks, and Blackstone (BX) is in discussions to join a ByteDance shareholder bid too. Fox News reports that the White House is planning to announce a TikTok deal on Friday morning, including two executive orders; the deal may involve Chinese ownership of the algorithm, leased to a new US entity, with potential minority ownership. (Fox News)

Intel (INTC) and TSMC (TSM) - Cos tentatively agree to form chipmaking JV, according to The Information. (The Information)

TikTok - White House reportedly eyeing TikTok deal announcement for tomorrow morning, via FBN's Gasparino citing sources. Canadian PM Carney says Canada will impose 25% tariffs on all vehicles imported from the US that are not compliant with the USMCA trade deal. (FBN's Gasparino)

Twitter (formerly X) - The EU plans to fine Elon Musk’s X over USD 1bln for violating its Digital Services Act, citing failures in policing disinformation and transparency, NYT reports. A broader probe could bring further penalties. X calls it censorship, while Musk may challenge it in court. The case risks escalating US-EU trade tensions. (NYT)

US Treasuries - Investors are said to be concerned that foreign buyers may reduce their US Treasury purchases in response to President Trump's sweeping tariffs, Bloomberg reports. China and Japan, the largest foreign holders of US debt, are under scrutiny as their holdings have decreased in recent years, potentially exacerbated by the ongoing trade tensions, especially with Asia. (Bloomberg)

04 Apr 2025 - 06:51- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk