Feb 17 ,2025
Synopsis:
European equity markets generally opened higher, and after narrow range-bound trading in slightly positive territory through much of the morning, pan-European indices pushed to session highs during after trading, closing just below the highs of the day.
Portugal (0.4%) bucked the firmer trend, and along with Belgium, Netherlands and CAC all ~ +0.2%, led underperformers. Italy +1.1% and DAX lead outperformers.
US markets closed for President's Day (Washington's Birthday) holiday
Focus for Europe on geopolitics as US officials prepare for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Early in the day it was reported that Ukraine's President Zelenskyy to visit Saudi Arabia on Wed, with the Middle Eastern country hosting US-Russia Ukraine peace talks. Later however Zelenskyy says Ukraine won't participate in the talks (Politico). With European leaders concerned US will make an agreement with Russia without European involvement, the region's leaders meet in Paris to discuss how to respond. EU's von der Leyen met with Gen. Keith Kellogg, US Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, before the president of the EU Commission joined the on Paris, with UK's PM Starmer stating in an interview the intention to send British troops as part of any European peacekeeping force in Ukraine, the PM also attending the meeting in Paris. The talk of potential for increased EU defense spending amid security concerns, aided the sector, with Saab (SAAB.B.SS) +16.1% Rheinmetall (RHM.GR) +14.2% and BAE Systems (BA.LN) +8.9%.
Away from the Ukraine, other political headlines surrounded the German federal election, where following CDU/CSU's Merz, SDP's Scholz, Green's Habeck, AfD's Weidel participation in tv debate over the weekend, the same four party leaders will separately answer questions posed by a live audience in a town hall format on ARD this evening at 20:15CET, as well as Trump tariffs, with German Chancellor Scholz saying EU would prefer a deal with the US rather than hitting back with EU tariffs, and UK business secretary Reynolds also said in weekend interviews government is looking to hit US products with tariffs if it fails to win a carve out for steel and aluminum.
Also, UK Conservative Party leader Badenoch (politics.co.uk) and Reform UK's Farage among the speakers at Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conf and Norway's minister of trade, industry and fisheries Myrseth met with business leaders with trade with the United States on the agenda. There's an informal meeting of the EU's General Affairs Council (through Tue).
Bundesbank's Nagel spoke at Union International Club, whilst there's Eurogroup meeting with ECB's Lagarde and Cipollone among the participants.
Marco news flow included Eurozone, Italy, Spain and Norway trade balances, Sweden Jan unemployment rate 10.4% vs consensus 8.6%, prior 8.0% and UK Feb house price index - Rightmove. The UK data saw the +0.5% m/m below the longer-term average of +0.8%, with the number of available homes for sale at a 10-year high, moderating the New Year price gains, as the looming stamp duty changes and extra costs for some buyers, seen prompting activity
Among the limited number of earnings releases/updates were Galp Energia (GALP.PL) reported Q4 RCA net income €71M vs consensus €171M, raised dividend +15% y/y and announced share buyback, Bakkafrost (BAKKA.NO) reported Q4 operational EBIT DKK280M vs FactSet DKK355.6M whilst La Francaise des Jeux (FDJ.FP) announced FY adjusted EBITDA €792M vs FactSet €740.1M.
Other corporate news flow included BASF (BAS.GR) (0.1%) to sell Brazilian decorative paints business to Sherwin-Williams (SW) for $1.15B on a cash and debt-free, Eni (ENI.IM) +0.2% agrees with Egypt and Cyprus for development and export of Cyprus Block 6 gas through Egypt's existing infrastructure and PhosAgro Group (PHOR.RU) sets new record in terms of its monthly agrochemical production and shipment volumes in Jan-25.
Digest:
Sectors - STOXX Europe 600:
Outperformers:
Ind Goods & Svcs +1.47%, Travel & Leisure +1.17%, Insurance +1.09%, Banks +1.03%, Basic Resources +0.82%, Financial Svcs +0.67%, Retail +0.63%, Autos & Parts +0.57%
Underperformers:
Real Estate (0.77%), Persnl & HHold Goods (0.54%), Utilities (0.19%), Chemicals (0.19%), Media (0.04%), Food & Beverage +0.10%, Oil & Gas +0.14%, Telecom +0.19%, Construct & Mtls +0.37%, Health Care +0.45%, Technology +0.52%
Macro/Peripheral markets:
EU / Geopolitics:
ECB:
Rate cuts may extend below 2% in 2026 amid economic challenges - Bloomberg
Netherland central bank's Knot warns of growing threats from global economic fragmentation - Bloomberg
Bank of Italy's Panetta says US tariffs unlikely to significantly impact Eurozone inflation - speech
Bundesbank's Nagel speech
Germany:
UK:
Employers plan job cuts as tax increases loom, survey finds - FT
Government unveils plan for steel sector, to protect industry amid global challenges - LondonTimes
Treasury seeks clarity on cost of Thames Water renationalisation - FT
PM says UK would supply troops to a Ukraine peace keeping force - Telegraph
Conservative Party trail Reform UK on a range of key indicators - YouGov poll for Sky News
Sovereign credit rating reviews after the close Fri included:
Company news:
Notable Gainers
+27.7% ALZCUR.SS (AlzeCure) -- receives EU grant for Phase 2 clinical trial of NeuroRestore ACD856 for Alzheimer's disease
+12.2% FXPO.LN (Ferrexpo) -- upgraded to buy from hold at Peel Hunt
+9.0% AGR.LN (Assura) -- update on possible cash offer by KKR; USSIM not to make offer
+8.1% IPH.FP (Innate Pharma) -- lacutamab for r/r SS granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD)
+7.3% ALCAR.FP (Carmat) -- journal publication on Aeson total artificial heart performance
+6.6% RATO.B.SS (Ratos) -- Q4 EPS SEK0.05 ex-items vs FactSet SEK0.25 [4 est, SEK0.14-0.45]
+4.8% MONY.LN (MONY Group) -- FY adj. EPS 17.0p vs consensus 17p; announces £30M share buyback, expects 2025 adj. EBITDA broadly within current published consensus
+3.9% FDJ.FP (La Francaise des Jeux) -- FY adj. EBITDA €792M vs FactSet €740.1M [7 est, €693.8-767M]; upgraded to buy from neutral at CIC Market Solutions
+3.6% ASPO.FH (Aspo) -- Q4 EPS from cont. ops. €0.15 ex-items vs FactSet €0.13 [4 est, €0.12-0.14]
+3.2% EBQ.LN (Ebiquity) -- trading update: expects FY results in line with market expectations
+3.4% FRP.LN (FRP Advisory Group) -- expects to report FY25 results ahead of current market expectations; declares Q3 dividend of 0.95p/share vs year-ago 0.90p/share
+3.1% KAP.LN (National Atomic Company Kazatomprom) -- contract for Uranium supply
+2.5% SPR.LN (Springfield Properties) -- H1 adj. EPS 2.4p vs year-ago 1.5p; to sell 2,480 land plots to Barratt Redrow (BTRW.LN) for £64.2M
On earnings/updates: SAGCV.FH (Saga Furs), RIO.LN (Rio Tinto) ,ORK.NO (Orkla),
Notable Decliners
-34.0% FYB.GR (Formycon) -- prematurely terminates FYB206 Phase III trial
-14.5% PDL.LN (Petra Diamonds) -- H1 adj. EPS ($0.13) vs FactSet ($0.12) [1 est]; remain on track to meet our production guidance of 2.4-2.7 Mcts for the year, now excluding Williamson as a discontinued operation
-10.1% CREO.LN (Creo Medical Group) -- FY Trading Update: revenue ~£30.4M vs FactSet £31.7M [2 est, £31.3-32M]; start to the year has been positive and the company is trading in line with management expectations
-7.8% WIL.LN (Wilmington) -- H1 adj. EPS 9.6p vs year-ago 6.8p; trading in the current financial year continues to be in line with expectations
-7.6% NESTE.FH (Neste) -- downgraded to reduce from accumulate at Inderes
-5.7% BAKKA.NO (Bakkafrost) -- Q4 operational EBIT DKK280M vs FactSet DKK355.6M [11 est, DKK301.7-411.5M]
-5.9% SECARE.SS (Swedencare) -- long-term recommendation downgraded to market perform from outperform at Handelsbanken
-4.5% IPO.LN (IP Group) -- issues update following Istesso Ltd announcement to shareholders of the outcome of its Phase 2b study of leramistat in rheumatoid arthritis
-3.9% AGY.LN (Allergy Therapeutics) -- announces publication of Grass MATA MPL Phase III data in the journal Allergy
-3.8% PLAY.IR (Fly Play) -- Q4 net income ($39.8M) vs year-ago ($17.2M)
-3.7% KOSKI.FH (Koskisen) -- Q4 EPS €0.07 vs FactSet €0.09 [3 est, €0.07-0.12], cuts dividend, provides 2025 guidance
-3.5% OMASP.FH (Oma Savings Bank) -- Finnish FSA imposes additional capital requirements and a liquidity requirement based on the supervisor's completed review
-3.2% GALP.PL (Galp Energia) -- Q4 RCA net income €71M vs consensus €171M, raises dividend +15% y/y, announces share buyback
-2.9% HUH1V.FH (Huhtamaki) -- downgraded to hold from buy at Danske Bank
-2.6% IP.IM (Interpump Group) -- downgraded to hold from buy at Equita
-2.4% PHO.NO (Photocure) -- announces presentation on 14-Feb of new abstract with study results from its U.S. bladder cancer patient registry at the 2025 ASCO
On earnings/updates: OXB.LN (OXB), KRE.DC (Kreditbanken)
EU companies reporting tomorrow:
Earnings:
Benelux: EVS Broadcast Equipment (EVS.BB)
France: Capgemini (CAP.FP), Edenred (EDEN.FP), Societe BIC (BB.FP), Vicat (VCT.FP), Icade (ICAD.FP)
DACHs: Temenos (TEMN.SW), Siegfried (SFZN.SW), OC Oerlikon Corp. (OERL.SW), Basilea Pharmaceutica (BSLN.SW), ALSO Holding (ALSN.SW), Elmos Semiconductor (ELG.GR),
Nordics: SalMar (SALM.NO), Norconsult (NORCO.NO), Bouvet (BOUV.NO), Andfjord Salmon (ANDF.NO), Truecaller (TRUE.B.SS), Karnov (KAR.SS), Coinshares International Ltd. (CS.SS), Karnell (KARNEL.B.SS), Smart Eye (SEYE.SS), Embellence (EMBELL.SS), Vaisala (VAIAS.FH), Ponsse (PON1V.FH), NNIT (NNIT.DC), Bittium (BITTI.FH)
Southern Europe: Enagas (ENG.SM)
UK/Ireland: HSBC Holdings (HSBA.LN), Antofagasta (ANTO.LN), InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG.LN), Petra Diamonds Ltd. (PDL.LN), Kerry Group (KRZ.ID)
Trading Update: Valneva (VLA.FP), R. Stahl (RSL2.GR)
CMD/events: Vivoryon Therapeutics
Data:
Economics:
Norway Jan trade balance NOK94.8B vs consensus NOK72.0B, prior NOK83.2B
Sweden Jan unemployment rate 10.4% vs consensus 8.6%, prior 8.0%
Italy Dec trade balance €5.98B vs consensus €4.4B, prior revised €4.00B from €4.22B
Spain Dec trade balance (€4.12B) vs consensus (€4.9B), prior (€5.13B)
Eurozone Dec trade balance €15.5B vs consensus €14.4B, prior revised €16.0B from €16.4B
UK Feb house price index +1.4% y/y vs prior +1.8%; +0.5% m/m vs prior +1.7% - Rightmove
Markets:
WTI Crude (Mar 25): +$0.25 or +0.35% to $70.99
€-$ (0.0008) or (0.08%) to 1.0480
£-$ +0.0022 or +0.17% to 1.2611
€-£ (0.0020) to 0.8312
S&P 500 closed
Performance year-to-date:
FTSE 100: +7.28%
DAX: +14.51%
CAC: +10.95%
MIB: +12.11%
Stoxx 600: +9.42%
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