Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 7th April 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks resumed last week's heavy selling as the trade war and growth concerns continued to unhinge investor sentiment, while Chinese markets slumped as the broad selling pressure rolled over into Greater China following the extended weekend and Beijing's tariff retaliation. ASX 200 declined heavily amid notable losses across all sectors with energy and mining stocks the worst hit owing to demand and growth-related concerns. Nikkei 225 slumped after futures triggered circuit breakers heading into the Tokyo open although the index was slightly off today's worst levels amid currency moves. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were hit on return from the long weekend with the former suffering double-digit losses as participants reacted to Beijing's retaliation against Trump's reciprocal tariffs in which China announced to impose tariffs of 34% on all US goods from April 10th.

Chinese Stimulus - China is reportedly considering frontloading stimulus in order to counter the tariff hit, via Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Japanese stocks - Japan's finance minister Kato says closely watching market moves with a high sense of urgency and will act appropriately against market moves, while he declines to comment regarding market levels and said monetary policy is up to the BoJ

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: -4.66% at 20,705, FTSE 100: -4.95% at 8,055, CAC 40: -4.26% at 7,275, Euro Stoxx 50: -4.83% at 4,866, AEX: -4.12% at 841, IBEX 35: -5.83% at 12,422, FTSE MIB: -6.53% at 34,649, SMI: -5.42% at 11,614, PSI: -4.75% at 6,636

SECTORS: Consumer Stpl -2.47%, IT -3.28%, Consumer Disc -3.75%, Utilities -3.89%, Materials -4.07%, Telecoms -4.12%, Healthcare -4.78%, Industrials -6.08%, Financials -6.96%, Energy -7.16%

FTSE 100

Shell (SHEL LN) - The Times writes that some of the UK's largest Government pension schemes has asked the Co. to explain how plans to increase gas production are compatible with its goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. (The Times)

UK Autos - UK PM Starmer has eased targets which forced automakers in the UK to produce more EVs. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

De La Rue (DLAR LN) - Co. is expected to close the GBP 300mln sale of its authentication arm to Crane as early as Monday morning, reports Sky News. (Sky News)

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Bayer (BAYN GY) - Co. says split among federal circuit courts of appeal in roundup personal injury litigation warrants review; says it's filing petition to US Supreme Court for review of roundup case. (Newswires)

Pre-market Indications - European indices are indicative of a very weak open. In terms of some pre-market indications, the likes of Rheinmetall (RHM GY) is seen lower by around 15%; Commerzbank (CBK GY) / Deutsche Bank (DBK GY) seen lower by 7-9%, via Reuters. (Reuters)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Sartorius (SRT3 GY) - Co. to acquire microtissue business Mattek; agreed purchase price is USD 80mln and is expected to close Q2'25. (Newswires)

Thyssenkrupp (TKA GY) - ThyssenKrupp Stell decides to terminate the supply contract with HKM. (Newswires)

Qiagen (QIA GY) - Q1'25 (EUR): Net Sales 483mln +5% Y/Y. Raises FY25 adj. EPS outlook to USD 2.35 (prev. 2.28). Co. is on track to exceed its 2028 mid-term target of more than 31% adjusted operating profit margin CER ahead of schedule. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Co. says Taiwan's EVA Air (2618 TT) has placed a firm order for six long-range A350-1000s and three single-aisle A321neo aircrafts. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Biomerieux (BIM FP) - Obtains CE-marking for LUMED APSS. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Veolia (VIE FP) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citi

PAN EUROPE

Trade - US Commerce Secretary Lutnick said there is no postponing tariffs and April 9th tariffs are coming, while he stated tariffs are going to stay in place for days and weeks, according to CBS News. EU Trade Commissioner Sefcovic says he had frank talks with US officials over Trump tariffs; reiterated to US' Lutnick that US tariffs are damaging and unjustified (CBS News / Newswires)

Banco BPM (BAMI IM) - Take up in takeover bid for Anima (ANIM IM) reaches 87.118% of shares to which offer relates. (Newswires)

Generali (G IM) - Proxy adviser ISS recommends Generali shareholders vote for Mediobanca’s (MB IM) board nominees at AGM. (Newswires)

Italian Economy - Bank of Italy Italian GDP Forecasts: 2025 0.5% (prev. 0.7% in Dec.), 2026 0.9% (prev. 1.2%), estimates US trade tariffs will have negative impact on Italian growth of over 0.5 ppts in 2025-2027. (Newswires)

Santander (SAN SM) - Santander UK is looking at the UK's ex-Treasury Chief Scholar as its new Chairman, according Sky News; sources suggest it could be announced later in the Spring, subject to regulatory approval. (Sky News)

BROKER MOVES

Endesa (ELE SM) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citi

Enel (ENEL IM) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Julius Baer (BAER SW) - Announced further organisational changes; creates Global Products & Solutions unit. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Aker BP (AKERBP NO) - Q1'25 Trading Update: Equity Production avg. 441.4 mboepd. (Newswires)

Clas Ohlson (CLASB SS) - March Net Sales +17%, SEK 814mln. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Swedbank (SWEDA SS) downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette

US

CLOSES: SPX -5.97% at 5,074, NDX -6.07% at 17,398, DJI -5.50% at 38,315, RUT -4.37% at 1,827

SECTORS: Energy -8.7%, Financials -7.39%, Technology -6.33%, Industrials -6.29%, Materials -6.29%, Communication Services -4.89%, Consumer Staples -4.55%, Consumer Discretionary -4.5%, Utilities -3.27%, Health -3.17%, Real Estate -2.51%.

Capri Holdings (CPRI), Prada (PRDSY) - Prada is expected to make a decision this week regarding a potential acquisition of Versace from Capri Holdings, with discussions in their final phase. A deal could be announced by April 10TH, potentially priced at EUR 1bln, one-third lower than initial estimates, Reuters reports citing sources. The ongoing negotiations have been complicated by the impact of tariffs, with Versace having struggled financially since being purchased for EUR 1.8bln in 2018. (Newswires)

Gold - China's central bank continued its gold buying for a fifth consecutive month in March, adding 0.09mln troy ounces to its reserves, Bloomberg reports.

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) - Howmet Aerospace, supplier of Airbus (AIR FP) and Boeing (BA), in a letter to clients, said it may halt some shipments to Airbus and Boeing, citing force majeure over Trump’s new tariffs, Reuters reports. The letter allows Howmet to suspend deliveries impacted by the tariffs and opens talks on cost-sharing, marking a rare move that could ripple through the aerospace supply chain, Reuters adds. (Reuters)

Fed - Goldman Sachs expects the Federal Reserve to begin a series of interest rate cuts in June (previously, it saw cuts in July, September, November). (Newswires)

TikTok - ByteDance issues statement; confirms discussions with US Government about TikTok; pact will be subject to approval under Chinese law and there are still key matters to be resolved. (Newswires)

US Economy - Goldman Sachs says raising 12-month US recession probability to 45% from 35%. (Newswires)

Woodside Energy Group (WDS) - Woodside announced that Stonepeak will invest USD 5.7bln in its proposed Louisiana LNG export facility, securing a 40% stake in Louisiana LNG Infrastructure LLC, BBG reports. The partnership moves the project closer to a final investment decision.

07 Apr 2025 - 06:48- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk