Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 6th March 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mixed albeit with a predominantly positive bias after the constructive handover from Wall St where stocks ultimately gained in a choppy session amid mixed data and after the US decided to delay auto tariffs on Canada and Mexico by 30 days. ASX 200 retreated to a fresh YTD low amid underperformance in the energy and utilities sectors, while better-than-expected building approvals and a larger trade surplus failed to inspire. Nikkei 225 advanced at the open as the yen faded some of its recent gains and with the index unfazed by the rise in yields. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp resumed their upward momentum amid the ongoing “Two Sessions” and recent spending announcements, while participants also awaited a press briefing by China’s central bank, finance and securities chiefs.

Seven & I (3382 JT/SVNDY) - Seven & i Holdings Co. plans a large-scale JPY 2tln share buyback to boost its stock valuation, Bloomberg reports. The company will replace CEO Ryuichi Isaka with director Stephen Dacus. It plans to retain a majority stake in its North American convenience subsidiary following an IPO, which is expected to raise over JPY 1tln.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +3.55% at 23,120, FTSE 100: -0.04% at 8,756, CAC 40: +1.56% at 8,174, Euro Stoxx 50: +1.85% at 5,497, AEX: -0.50% at 910, IBEX 35: +1.47% at 13,223, FTSE MIB: +2.08% at 38,519, SMI: +0.66% at 13,091, PSI: +0.49% at 6,733

FTSE 100

Ex-Dividends - HSBC (HSBA LN), Rio Tinto (RIO LN), LondonMetric (LMP LN) and Berkeley (BKG LN) will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts. (Newswires)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Rio Tinto will invest USD 1.8bln in its Brockman Syncline 1 iron ore project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, Reuters reports. The project, already approved by state and federal authorities, is set to begin production in 2027 — one year ahead of schedule. It extends the Brockman hub’s lifespan while Rio Tinto also expands its focus on copper, Reuters added. (Reuters)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Deutsche Lufthansa (LHA GY) - FY (EUR): Net Income 1.38bln (exp. 1.02bln, prev. 1.67bln Y/Y), Adj. EBIT 1.65bln (exp. 1.58bln, prev. 2.68bln Y/Y), Revenue 37.6bln (exp. 37.5bln). Dividend 0.30/shr (exp. 0.26). Passengers 131.7mln, +7% Y/Y. Load factor 83.1% , +0.2% Y/Y. Op Margin 4.4% (prev. 7.6% Y/Y). 2025: Guides Q1 capacity increase Y/Y. Guides FY25 earnings "significantly above" the prior year. Guides FY25: Revenue 35.6bln (exp. 39.40bln), Adj. EBIT 1.65bln. (Newswires)

Deutsche Post (DHL GY) - Q4 (EUR): EBIT 1.87bln (prev. 1.64bln Y/Y), Revenue 22.7bln (prev. 21.3bln Y/Y). FY: Revenue 94.19bln (exp. 83.89bln, EBIT 5.89bln (exp 5.81bln). Guides initial FY25 EBIT more than 6bln, Capex 3-3.3bln. CEO says 8k job cuts will occur through natural fluctuations, to save more than EUR 1bln. Share buyback program increase by EUR 2bln to up to EUR 6bln and extended until 2026. (Newswires)

Germany - Goldman Sachs raises Germany's 2025 economic growth forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 0.2%, citing higher public spending on defence and infrastructure. (Newswires)

Infineon (IFX GY) - Skywater to acquire Infineon's Austin fab. (Newswires)

Merck (MRK GY) - FY (EUR): Adj. EPS 8.63 (exp. 8.70), Net Sales 21.16bln (exp. 21.17bln), Div/shr 2.20 (prev. 2.20 Y/Y). FY25: Sees Adj. EBITDA 6.1-6.6bln (exp. 6.53bln). (Newswires)

Zalando (ZAL GY) - Q4 (EUR): Revenue 3.3bln (prev. 2.39bln Y/Y). FY25: GMV 15.3bln (prev. 14.6bln Y/Y), EBIT Margin 4.8% (prev. 3.5% Y/Y). Outlook: GMV Growth +4-9%, Adj. EBIT 520-590mln. About You deal expected to close in Summer'25. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Prosiebensat 1 Media (PSM GY) - FY (EUR): Revenue 3.92bln. Outlook: Expects Revenue of around 4bln, +/- 150mln. Proposes dividend of EUR 0..05/shr for 2024. (Newswires)

Siltronic (WAF GY) - Q4 (EUR): EBITDA 93mln (prelim 93mln), Revenue 360.6mln (prelim 361mln). Guides H1 Revenue "high single digit percentage below H2'24". Affirms FY25 revenue. Reduction of inventory levels at chip manufacturers and their customers will shape 2025. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Air France (AF FP) - Q4 (EUR): Net Income -21mln (prev. -256mln Y/Y), Revenue 7.88bln (exp. 7.74bln). Guides FY24 Capacity +4-5%. (Newswires)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Co. successfully prices EUR 1.5bln of bond issue; EUR 850mln floating rate notes, due March 2027 and EUR 650mln fixed rate notes, due March 2031. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Bouygues (EN FP) - FY24 (EUR): Adj. Net Income 1.06bln (prev. 1.04bln Y/Y), Revenue 56.8bln (exp. 56.8bln). (Newswires)

Eutelsat (ETL FP) - CEO says talks over replacing Starlink in Ukraine are intensifying. (Newswires)

Elis (ELIS FP) - FY (EUR): Revenue 4.57bln (prelim 4.57bln); announces EUR 150mln share buyback. Guides initial FY25 organic rev. slightly below 4% Y/Y (exp. 3.8%). (Newswires)

Eurazeo (RF FP) - FY (EUR): AuM 24.8bln (prev. 25.2bln Y/Y), Management Fees 421mln (prev. 392mln Y/Y). Raises dividend to EUR 2.65/shr, +10%. Accelerates buyback to EUR 400mln (prev. EUR 200mln). (Newswires)

Getlink (GET FP) - FY (EUR): Net Income 317mln (prev. 332mln Y/Y), EBITDA 833mln (exp. 808mln). Affirms FY24 EBITDA. (Newswires)

JCDecaux (DEC FP) - FY24 (EUR): Revenue 3.94bln (prev. 3.57bln Y/Y), Guides Q1 Organic Revenue approx. +5%. (Newswires)

La Francaise des Jeux (FDJ FP) - FY (EUR): Adj. Net Income 490mln (exp. 480mln), Revenue 3.79bln (prev. 2.62bln Y/Y). Guides initial FY25 Revenue approx. 3.8bln. (Newswires)

Spie (SPIE FP) - FY (EUR): Revenue 9.9bln (exp. 9.87bln). Organic Rev. +4.3% Y/Y. (Newswires)

Veolia (VIE FP) - Signed contract with Metro Vancouver; amount up to USD 245mln for operations and maintenance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Trade - White House says will give one month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA. Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2nd. US President Trump sees increase in fentanyl flow through Canadian border, needs to be repercussions for that. Trump is open to hearing about additional tariff exemptions. US President Trump is reportedly considering agricultural carve-outs for Mexico and Canada tariffs, according to Bloomberg. Canada is willing to reduce its retaliation of US tariffs if Washington drops some additional duties although no deal yet and negotiations are ongoing, according to a Canadian government source. (Newswires)

Andritz (ANDR AV) - FY (EUR): EBITDA 887.9mln (exp. 896.5mln), Revenue 8.31bln (exp. 8.42bln). (Newswires)

Almirall (ALM SM) - Jon U. Garay Alonso will join as new CFO in August 2025. (Newswires)

AI Models - A team from China recently unveiled its general-purpose AI Agent product, Manus, which is said to outperform OpenAI model of the same level, according to the Shanghai Securities News. (Shanghai Securities News)

Autos - EU's Sejourne says suppliers for the auto industry in France, even carmakers, could take part in some tenders for the Defence industry

Poste Italiane (PST IM) - Italy halts its stake sale in the Co., while it Poste Italiane focuses its attention on how to revamp Telecom Italia (TIT IM), according to Reuters citing sources. (Reuters)

Solvay (SOLB SS) - Q4 (EUR): Underlying Net Income 445mln (prev. 588mln Y/Y), Adj. EBITDA 256mln (exp. 238mln), Revenue 1.13bln (exp. 1.11bln). Guides initial FY25 Underlying EBITDA 1-1.1bln, Adj. FCF 300mln (exp. 332mln). (Newswires)

Telecom Italia (TIT IM) - FY (EUR): Net Profit -610mln.

BROKER MOVES

Poste Italiane (PST IM) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan

SMI

Geberit (GEBN SW) - FY (CHF): Net Income 597mln (prev. 617mln Y/Y), EBITDA 913mln (prev. 921mln Y/Y), Raises dividend to CHF 12.8/shr, +0.8%. (Newswires)

Logitech (LOGN SW) - Logitech backs its FY25 revenue guidance of between USD 4.54-4.57bln (exp. 4.58bln). CEO highlights growth prospects, market leadership, and AI as a key driver. Sees FY26 revenue between USD 4.53-4.71bln (exp. 4.78bln). Has updated its long-term model, and is now targeting +7-10% sales growth, 40%+ adj. gross margin growth, and +15-18% operating margin. Plans USD 2bln in share buybacks over three years, with a USD 600mln increase to current programme. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Galderma (GALD SW) - FY24 (USD): Core Net Income 496mln (exp. 391mln), Revenue 4.41bln, +9.3% Y/Y. Guides initial FY25 rev. +10-12% Y/Y. (Newswires)

Helvetia (HELN SW) - FY (CHF): Revenue 9.1bln (exp. 9.4bln), Underlying Net Income 528.5mln (exp. 501mln). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +1.11% at 5,843, NDX +1.36% at 20,628, DJI +1.14% at 43,007, RUT +1.02% at 2,101

SECTORS: Energy -1.51%, Utilities -0.68%, Consumer Staples +0.43%, Financials +0.62%, Health +1.00%, Real Estate +1.01%,, Technology +1.39%, Communication Services +1.50%, Industrials +1.59%, Consumer Discretionary +1.75%, Materials +2.63%.

Amazon (AMZN), Philips (PHG) - Philips has chosen AWS as its preferred cloud provider to support its business transformation and enhance healthcare informatics solutions globally. This cloud-first, AI-driven approach is expected to improve care delivery, accelerate product development, and lower infrastructure costs, it said.

Big Tech - President Trump is set to meet with CEOs from HP (HPE), Qualcomm (QCOM), Intel (INTC), and IBM (IBM) next Monday, Bloomberg reports. The discussions will likely focus on potential import tariffs and stricter export rules, which could significantly impact the tech industry.

Discord IPO - Co. is reportedly in early discussions with banks on an IPO, via FT citing sources; Co. has been considering a listing since 2021. (FT) As a reminder, in 2021 the Co. declined a USD 12bln offer from Microsoft6:20 AM

Klarna IPO - Bloomberg reports that Klarna is set to file for an approx. USD 1bln IPO as soon as next; sources suggest the Co. is targeting a valuation of more than USD 1bln on the NYSE. (Bloomberg)

Marvell Technology (MRVL) - Marvell Technology’s Q4 revenue rose +20%, topping forecasts, while adj. EPS was a touch above expectations; however, despite a positive FY26 outlook, its Q1 guidance disappointed investors, causing shares to drop 17% in afterhours trading. It reported Q4 adj. EPS of 0.60 (exp. 0.59), Q4 revenue of USD 1.82bln (exp. 1.80bln). Sees Q1 adj. EPS between 0.56-0.66 (exp. 0.61), and sees Q1 revenue around 1.875bln +/- 5% (exp. 1.87bln).

Nvidia (NVDA) - The black market price of Nvidia’s RTX 5090 gaming chip in China has risen by 150%, driven by DeepSeek’s popularity, The Information reports. Companies are seeking cost-effective alternatives to expensive AI chips, fuelling demand. Separately, at a conference, execs said that despite strong Q4 Blackwell revenue, ongoing supply chain and product variant challenges (eg. GB200), may influence future rollouts. Execs also said that aggressive R&D investments across multiple architectures continue to drive innovation and underpin its forecast for mid-30s-percentage Y/Y revenue growth, despite competitive pressures.

Walmart (WMT) - Walton Family Holdings Trust reports open market sale of 1.4mln Walmart (WMT) shares on March 4th and 1.3mln shares on March 5th

Zscaler (ZS) - Q2 results beat expectations, with EPS of 0.78 (exp. 0.69) and revenue of USD 647.9mln (exp. 635.4mln), driven by strong demand for Zero Trust and AI. Sees Q3 EPS between 0.75-0.76 (exp. 0.74) and Q3 revenue between 665-667mln (exp. 667.3mln). Raises FY25 EPS guidance to between 3.04-3.09 (exp. 2.99) revenue guidance to between USD 2.64-2.65bln (exp. 2.64bln), and lifted its FY25 calculated billings view to between USD 3.15-3.17bln.

06 Mar 2025 - 06:59- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk