Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 4th August 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mixed following a quiet weekend of newsflow and last Friday's disappointing Non-Farm Payrolls data. ASX 200 was subdued amid underperformance in the top-weighted financials sector and with weakness also seen in energy, Industrials and tech, although losses were stemmed by resilience in defensives and miners. Nikkei 225 underperformed after recent currency strength and briefly dipped back beneath the 40k level. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were kept afloat amid earnings and corporate updates, while the PBoC announced last week that it is to expand the issuance scale of sci-tech bonds and promote cross-border financing facilitation, as well as strengthen the implementation and supervision of interest rate policies.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -2.75% at 5,174, Dax 40 -2.47% at 23,471, FTSE 100 -0.70% at 9,069, CAC 40 -2.91% at 7,546, FTSE MIB -2.55% at 39,943, IBEX 35 -1.75% at 14,146, PSI -1.10% at 7,627, SMI -0.91% at 11,823, AEX -1.91% at 885

SECTORS: Utilities -0.42%, Telecoms -0.43%, Consumer Stpl -0.65%, Healthcare -1.10%, Energy -1.57%, Materials -1.69%, Consumer Disc -1.87%, Financials -2.57%, IT -2.63%, Industrials -2.93%

FTSE 100

BAE Systems (BA/ LN) - BAE Systems was awarded a USD 140mln Army contract modification for Armored Multipurpose Vehicles, bringing the total contract value to USD 2.29bln. (Newswires)

BP (BP/ LN) - Co. to give an update on cost-cutting measures, on Tuesday, as investor Elliott continues to up its pressure on the Co. The report suggests that Elliott wants the new CEO to add another USD 5bln of cost savings to the USD 4-5bln in reductions by 2027, he already announced. (FT)

UK Motor Finance / Lloyds (LLOY LN) / Close Brothers (CBG LN) - UK Supreme Court overturns landmark ruling on motor finance commissions, payment of a commission was not a bribe. The FCA said: It will consult on a compensation scheme for motor finance customers. Notes that at this stage, thinks that the cost of any scheme, incl. admin costs could be materially higher than GBP 9bln or as high as GBP 18bln; analysts see in the mid-point of this range. Aims to publish the consultation by early October and for it to be open for six weeks. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Lloyds (LLOY LN) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

Shell (SHEL LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Stabilus (STM GY) - Q3 (EUR): Adj. EBIT 33.1mln (prev. 43.1mln Y/Y), Revenue 316mln (prev. 351mln Y/Y). Cuts FY25 Revenue 1.3bln (prev. guided 1.30-1.45bln). Says, price adjustments in supply chain and uncertainty have led industrial customers to be hesitant in investing in capital goods. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

BMW (BMW GY) resumed with Fully Valued at DBS Vickers

CAC

Danone (BN FP) - Co. will explore the acquisition of Lifeway Foods (LWAY), via Barron's. This would be the third attempt at an offer, after the US-listed co. rejected two all-share cash offers of USD 25/shr and USD 27/shr previously. Currently Danone holds around 23% of Lifeway shares. (Barron's)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

AI - Mistral AI targets USD 10bln valuation in a new fundraising push, where it aims to compete with US and Chinese rivals. (FT)

Mediobanca (MB IM) / Banca Generali (BGN IM) / UniCredit (UCG IM) - Italy's competition authority has decided not to open an investigation into Mediobanca’s bid for Banca Generali. Elsewhere, Milano Finanza reported that UniCredit still holds a 1.9% stake in Mediobanca, with an option of rising to 4%. The report adds that UniCredit may now back Mediobanca's bid for Banca Generali, after previously suggesting it would block it. (Newswires / Milano Finanza)

PostNL (PNL NA) - Q2 (EUR): Normalised Op. Profit 11mln (prev. 18mln Y/Y), Parcel Revenue +2.8% Y/Y, Mail Volume -8.3% Y/Y. Announced EUR 40mln goodwill impairment. 2025 outlook reiterated. CEO: Dutch Government proposal for changes to the USO announced on 30 June is not economically viable. (Newswires)

Prosus (PSX NA) - Co. set to win conditional EU antitrust approval for EUR 4.1bln acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway (JET LN), according to Reuters citing sources. EU clearance likely to be conditional on Prosus selling down 27.4% stake in Delivery Hero (DHER GY) and dropping its board seat, according to the sources. (Reuters)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - July: Stellantis sales -13% Y/Y. (Reuters)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

UBS (UBSG SW) - Co. resolves Legacy Credit Suisse matter with the US Department of Justice over a 2017 case; the Swiss bank said it will pay up USD 300mln to settle all obligations, which it will recognise in its Q3 results.

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.65% at 6,235, NDX -1.96% at 22,763, DJI -1.24% at 43,586, RUT -2.08% at 2,166.

SECTORS: Consumer Discretionary -3.56%, Technology -2.07%, Energy -1.84%, Financials -1.76%, Communication Services -1.65%, Industrials -1.46%, Materials -0.75%, Real Estate -0.25%, Utilities +0.12%, Consumer Staples +0.53%, Health +0.58%.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) - Berkshire Hathaway’s Q2 operating profit Q2 operating earnings fell 4% Y/Y USD 11.16bln (vs. USD 11.6bln Y/Y). pressured by weaker insurance underwriting despite gains in railroads, energy, manufacturing, and retail. The conglomerate warned tariffs pose risks to its businesses and equity investments. Buffett plans to step down as CEO at year-end, with Greg Abel succeeding him. It took a USD 3.76bln impairment on Kraft Heinz (KHC) due to reduced information access and strategic uncertainty, concluding the loss was other-than-temporary; it reduces its carrying value to USD 8.4bln (from over USD 17bln at the end of 2017), marking a significant loss on an investment that Buffett helped create via the merger about a decade ago. Berkshire's top five holdings remain American Express (AXP), Apple (AAPL), Bank of America (BAC), Coca-Cola (KO), and Chevron (CVX).

RTX Corporation (RTX) - RTX WAS awarded a sole-source, 20yr umbrella contract worth up to USD 50bln by the Defense Logistics Agency for systems, spares, services, and support. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity deal allows for negotiated sub-contracts through 2045.

Boeing (BA) - Boeing was awarded a USD 883mln contract by the US Army for cargo engineering and logistics support.

Palantir (PLTR) - Palantir awarded a USD 10bln contract by the US Army to consolidate existing contracts under an enterprise agreement. The sole-source award runs through July 2035.

US Banks - US tariffs and trade tensions under President Trump are driving European corporates to reduce reliance on major Wall Street banks, Bloomberg reports. The shift benefits Europe’s leading banks, which are actively competing to capture the redirected business as US banks lose ground in the region, the article adds.

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