Aug 18 ,2025
Synopsis:
European equity markets closed lower, near worst levels. Follows broad strength last week. Healthcare,Telecom and Media higher; basic resources, Construct & Mtls, Autos & Parts biggest laggards.
Geopolitics leading press headlines ahead of Ukraine President Zelensky's meeting with Trump on Monday. Trump-Putin meeting on Friday failed to produce agreement on halting war, and there remains uncertainty whether Ukraine will acquiesce to demands to surrender territory. US officials will also discuss security guarantees at Monday's meeting. Uncertain prospects of ceasefire. Analysts skeptical on sanctions relief. Limited read-through for markets right now.
Nothing particularly incremental on trade front. India PM Modi pledged to reduce goods and services tax in bid to support economy against tariff headwinds. US-India trade tensions remain high after Reuters sources said talks scheduled next week in Delhi called off. Other articles highlighted how major US trading partners still in dark on when they will see promised tariff relief. Trump revealed he is holding off on hitting China with secondary tariffs for at least for next 2-3 weeks.
Quiet macro calendar in Europe at start of the week. Eurozone trade balance much narrower than forecast after fall in imports outpaced export drop. Research showed US investor appetite for UK equities may have outstripped appetite for other markets due to cheap valuations. UK property portal Rightmove said estate agents saw busiest July in five years amid decent supply and discounting of asking prices. Meanwhile, London finance vacancies jumped, according to industry update, bucking trend in rest of the country. Traders now discounting BoE on hold for rest of the year.
On light reporting front, Koskisen (KOSKI.FH) repored Q2, whilst TAG Immobilien (TEG.GR) is planning to increase the dividend payout ratio to at least 50% of FFO I for FY26. In M&A news, ZI Zenith launched public tender offer to acquire u-blox (UBXN.SW) at CHF 135.00/sh in cash.
Looking ahead to tomorrow's calendar (see - Europe Week Ahead: 18-Aug to 22-Aug attached) Flughafen Wien (FLU.AV), Coloplast (COLO.B.DC), Jyske Bank (JYSK.DC), Stratec (SBS.GR), Deutsche Rohstoff (DR0.GR), Odfjell Drilling (ODL.NO), Scatec (SCATC.NO), Odfjell (ODF.NO), Multiconsult (MULTI.NO), Latour Investment (LATO.B.SS), Ambea (AMBEA.SS), PSP Swiss Property (PSPN.SW), HUBER+SUHNER (HUBN.SW), International Workplace Group (IWG.LN), and Tribal Group (TRB.LN) will be amongst other names to update investors, whilst the macro-calendar releases will include Portugal Jul PPI.
Digest:
Sectors - STOXX Europe 600:
Outperformers:
Health Care +1.43%, Telecom +0.50%, Media +0.50%, Persnl & HHold Goods +0.44%, Retail +0.43%, Oil & Gas +0.38%,
Underperformers:
Basic Resources (1.55%), Construct & Mtls (0.66%), Autos & Parts (0.59%), Insurance (0.51%), Banks (0.50%), Utilities (0.41%), Real Estate (0.29%), Chemicals (0.06%), Technology (0.02%), Financial Svcs +0.01%, Ind Goods & Svcs +0.04%, Travel & Leisure +0.05%, Food & Beverage +0.08%,
Macro/Peripheral markets:
Geopolitics
Central Banks
Traders Boost Bets BOE Will Hold Rate at 4% for Rest of 2025 - Bloomberg
EU
China Extends Probe Into EU Dairy Imports for Another Six Months - Bloomberg
UK
Britain cancels extra border checks for animals ahead of UK-EU deal - Reuters
Reeves considers replacing stamp duty with new property tax - The Guardian
Pub closures hit Home Counties hardest amid Labour's tax raid - The Telegraph
France
Italy's Key Yield Nears France as Traders Rethink European Risk - Bloomberg
Germany
Germany likely too stretched to provide troops for Ukraine, foreign minister says - Politico
Expenditure on social assistance increased by almost 15 percent in 2024 - Handelsblatt
Sweden
Swedish Security Adviser Trial Puts New Pressure on Government - Bloomberg
Company news:
Trading Higher:
+16.4% PANR.LN (Pantheon Resources £0.31, +0.04) -- Dubhe-1 appraisal update
+15.1% VWS.DC (Vestas Wind Systems DKK132.15, +17.30) -- alternative energy sector move related to US federal tax subsidies rule change
+6.6% EDPR.PL (EDP Renovaveis €10.36, +0.65) --
+10.2% BOOZT.SS (Boozt Fashion SEK92.25, +8.70) -- SEB upgrade
+9.6% FPIP.SS (FormPipe Software SEK29.80, +2.60) -- divests its Public Sector business for up to SEK 850M
+6.6% NOVO.B.DC (Novo Nordisk DKK347.50, +21.60) -- lowers cost of Ozempic to $499 per month for self-paying patients; enters collaboration with GoodRx (GDRX
+6.6% EMBRAC.B.SS (Embracer Group SEK85.33, +5.29)
+5.7% ITM.LN (ITM Power £0.72, +0.04)
+5.3% VLA.FP (Valneva €5.07, +0.25) -- Chikungunya Vaccine IXCHIQ authorized in Canada for individuals aged 12 and older
+5.2% CICN.SW (Cicor Technologies CHF202.00, +10.00) -- contract from European A&D equipment provider
+5.0% BAB.LN (Babcock International Group £10.43, +0.50) -- initiated outperform at RBC Capital
+4.5% TOKMAN.FH (Tokmanni Group €9.47, +0.41) -- DNB Carnegie upgrade
+3.6% FARN.LN (Faron Pharmaceuticals £2.18, +0.07) -- advances bexmarilimab into a registrational Phase 2/3 study in treatment-naïve (frontline) HR-MDS
+2.2% EGTX.SS (Egetis Therapeutics SEK5.60, +0.12) -- submits pre-NDA meeting (Type B) request to the FDA for tiratricol
+1.6% YIT.FH (Yit €3.14, +0.05) -- parking facility contract
Trading Lower:
-3.8% CBG.LN (Close Brothers Group £4.97, -0.19) -- RBC Capital Markets downgrade
-3.3% CBK.GR (Commerzbank €36.10, -1.24) -- Deutsche Bank downgrade
-2.0% UBXN.SW (u-blox Holding CHF136.00, -2.80) -- ZI Zenith cash tender offer at CHF 135.00/sh; Vontobel downgrade
-1.9% LXS.GR (Lanxess €24.34, -0.48) -- Van Lanschot Kempen downgrade
-1.8% SIILI.FH (Siili Solutions €5.32, -0.10) -- new CFO
EU companies reporting tomorrow:
Earnings:
Austria: Flughafen Wien (FLU.AV)
Benelux: EVS Broadcast Equipment (EVS.BB)
Denmark: Coloplast (COLO.B.DC), Jyske Bank (JYSK.DC), SP Group (SPG.DC), MT Hojgaard Holding (MTHH.DC), Trifork Holding (TRIFOR.DC)
Germany: Stratec (SBS.GR), Deutsche Rohstoff (DR0.GR),
Norway: Odfjell Drilling (ODL.NO), Scatec (SCATC.NO), Odfjell (ODF.NO), Multiconsult (MULTI.NO), Cambi (CAMBI.NO), Måsøval (MAS.NO), Salmon Evolution (SALME.NO), Nordhealth (NORDH.NO), Gigante Salmon (GIGA.NO), Spir Group (SPIR.NO)
Other: Mobile TeleSystems (MTSS.RU)
Sweden: Latour Investment (LATO.B.SS), Ambea (AMBEA.SS), Bahnhof (BAHN.B.SS), Idun Industrier (IDUN.B.SS), BICO Group (BICO.SS), FormPipe Software (FPIP.SS), Maha Capital (MAHA.A.SS), Starbreeze (STAR.B.SS), PION Group (PION.B.SS)
Switzerland: PSP Swiss Property (PSPN.SW), HUBER+SUHNER (HUBN.SW), SKAN Group (BVHN.SW), Medartis Holding (MED.SW), DocMorris (DOCM.SW)
UK: International Workplace Group (IWG.LN), Tribal Group (TRB.LN)
Traffic: Flughafen Wien (FLU.AV)
Data:
Economics:
Spain Jun Trade Balance (€3.59B) vs consensus (€5.8B) and prior (€2.54B)
Eurozone Jun Trade Balance €7.0B vs consensus €17.5B and prior revised €16.5B from €16.2B
Markets:
WTI Crude (Sep 25): +$0.19 or +0.30% to $62.99
€-$ (0.0041) or (0.35%) to 1.1671
£-$ (0.0035) or (0.26%) to 1.3519
€-£ (0.0008) to 0.8633
S&P 500 (0.10%)
Performance year-to-date
FTSE 100: +12.05%
DAX: +22.13%
CAC: +6.82%
MIB: +24.73%
Stoxx 600: +9.14%
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