EUROPEAN OPEN: EU moves to loosen pesticide rules; EU mulls broad taxes on large firms; LG Electronics prelim Q3 disappoints; Saudi to finalise large aircraft order; Dutch to slash ABN NA stake

EUROPEAN OPEN: European equities started the mid-week trading session to the downside. Overnight, APAC stocks were mostly lower despite fresh highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, as sentiment weakened amid rebounds in oil prices and yields. Crude futures gained amid Middle East tensions and supply concerns; the Houthi attacks damaged two airports in southern Saudi Arabia, while a reported blast near Iran’s Qeshm Island also raised concerns. December Brent trades above USD 101/bbl, while November WTI is trading around USD 90/bbl. Gold fell towards USD 4,135/oz overnight as investors awaited the Fed September meeting minutes later today for further policy clues, while geopolitical conflicts also added pressure. In consumer energy, the IEA will today discuss plans for an emergency release of up to 100mln bbls of diesel and crude pledged by G7 leaders; the initial focus is expected to be diesel, with releases planned over four months. UK Chancellor Healey is reportedly considering spending over GBP 1bln in this month’s budget to cut energy bills for poorer households. Stateside, President Trump said he is considering suspending the federal gas tax to ease high energy costs. Trump provided no details on how seriously the proposal is being considered, or any steps toward seeking congressional approval. European bonds are bearish after overnight gains in energy prices, with yesterday’s outperformers such as OATs pulling back sharply. ECB’s Moulin said the bond market situation in Europe is complicated, and France’s economic position is serious but not yet a crisis. Moulin said “we can act”, though stressed that the ECB is not responsible for addressing countries’ budgetary problems. France’s government is prepared to use constitutional powers to bypass parliament and pass EUR 43bln of 2027 spending cuts if negotiations fail, WSJ reports; FinMin Lescure set red lines of keeping the deficit at or below 5% of GDP and avoiding growth-damaging measures, with executive orders available if parliamentary deadlock persists. Many analysts have criticised the National Rally budget plans proposed this week as unrealistic in their ambitions, noting that the headlines of “eye-watering cuts” contained few new ideas. In trade news, the European Commission is considering a broad tax on very large companies, including Apple (AAPL), Meta (META) and Alphabet (GOOG), to raise EU revenue without singling out US tech groups, the FT reports. Brussels may revise its Corporate Resource for Europe proposal by raising thresholds, potentially excluding medium-sized firms. In data, German industrial production rose +2.0% M/M in August (exp. 0.5%, prev. -1.1%); construction and manufacturing drove the rebound, while autos weakened. Analysts at ING see Q3 momentum, but warned that Middle East conflict, high oil prices, higher rates, gas costs and weaker orders threaten a sustainable recovery. Elsewhere, Lloyds reported UK house prices were unchanged in September (exp. +0.2% M/M), while the annual rate of house price growth improved to 0.0% Y/Y (prev. -0.4%). STOCK SPECIFICS: TECH: LG Electronics’ (066570 KS) Q3 prelim operating profit guidance disappointed expectations at KRW 781.8bln (exp. KRW 1.028tln); LG said geopolitical instability and macroeconomic volatility weighed on results, although home appliances, vehicle components and TV operations remained profitable and companywide cost reductions helped offset higher logistics, material and fixed costs. Apple (AAPL) is reportedly preparing a smart-home push with LG (066570 KS)-developed doorbells, thermostats, smart locks and cameras. SpaceX (SPCX) is seeking USD 40bln of financing led by Apollo (APO) to fund Nvidia (NVDA) chip purchases, FT reports; the package comprises about USD 10bln of bank loans and USD 30bln of investment grade debt; Pimco (ALV FP) is reportedly among lenders in talks. MATERIALS: Of note for chemical stocks, the EU is moving to loosen pesticide rules after lobbying by Bayer (BAYN GY), Copa-Cogeca and other industry groups, FT reports; proposed changes include removing 15yr reassessments, widening exemptions from bans and extending withdrawal grace periods to three years. Two unions at Antofagasta’s (ANTO LN) Centinela copper mine in Chile rejected further contract talks and are set to strike. ENERGY: Shell (SHEL LN) began evacuating non-essential workers from six US Gulf of Mexico sites as a developing storm is forecast to become a hurricane by Thursday. Elsewhere, Shell sees company Q3 gas production at 740-780k BOEPD, and upstream production at 1,735-1,835k BOEPD. Repsol (REP SM) estimates Q3 total upstream production of 574K BOEPD, and a Spanish refining margin indicator of EUR 36.2/bbl. INDUSTRIALS: Saudia Group is preparing a substantial aircraft order for national carrier Saudia and Flyadeal, with deliveries targeted for 2031-2040; it has been previously reported that Saudi was in early talks with Boeing (BA) and Airbus (AIR FP) for at least 150 jets. FINANCIALS: NFLI said the Dutch State plans to sell ABN AMRO (ABN NA) depositary receipts via trading plan, potentially reducing its stake to 10.5% (from 20.7%); the plan will begin in coming days, with NLFI retaining discretion to amend, pause or terminate it and pursue other monetisation options. HSBC (HSBA LN) plans sweeping job cuts across its UK wealth management business as it expands AI use, FT reports; about half of management and specialist roles could go, while financial-adviser headcount may fall by around 70%. Capgemini (CAP FP) authorised a share buyback of up to 3mln shares. CONSUMER DEFENSIVE: Constellation Brands (STZ) shares fell over 4% in extended US trading as softer underlying beer demand and a reduced operating margin outlook outweighed stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and sales. CONSUMER CYCLICAL: Porsche (P911 GY) reaffirmed its 10-15% group operating return on sales target, targeting medium-term Automotive net cash flow margin of 9-12% and group sales of EUR 41-45bln; longer term, it targets 15% operating return, and 12% cash flow margin, plans around 20% higher top-end model pricing, and will cut around 9K jobs. Unifor will hold strike authorisation votes among Stellantis (STLAM IM) workers 17-18th October after negotiations remained at an impasse; results are due on 19th October, and a strike would not automatically follow a successful vote. HEALTHCARE: Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO) announced the expansion of its global collaboration and license agreement with Argenx (ARGX BB) to develop and commercialise ENHANZE with two additional exclusive targets. Qiagen (QGEN) announced new AI capabilities to accelerate analysis of complex biological and genomic data while retaining traceable scientific evidence. NOTABLE BROKER UPDATES: Melrose (MRO LN) upgraded at BNP Paribas; Reckitt Benckiser (RKT LN) upgraded at Goldman Sachs; Kone (KNEBV FH) upgraded at Citi; Skanska (SKAB SS) upgraded at SEB. BE Semiconductor (BESI NA) downgraded at UBS; Inchcape (INCH LN) downgraded at UBS. DAY AHEAD: EVENTS: US President will make an announcement at 13:00EDT/18:00BST, and will deliver remarks in San Antonio at 19:00EDT/00:00BST. ENERGY: The IEA will reportedly today discuss releasing up to 100mln barrels of diesel and crude pledged by G7 leaders, initially prioritising diesel. Elsewhere, DoE weekly energy inventory data are due today; afterhours on Tuesday, weekly data from the API reportedly showed headline crude stocks crude posted a draw of -2.1mln bbls, Cushing inventories built by +0.9mln bbls, gasoline stocks posted a draw of -1.4mln, distillate inventories saw a build of +0.5mln bbls. DATA: In North America, US NY Fed consumer inflation expectations survey is due; weekly MBA mortgage applications (prev. -6.0%; 30-year rate prev. 7.30%); later, US consumer credit stats are released (prev. USD 18.06bln). CENTRAL BANKS: FOMC releases September meeting minutes (preview below). ECB VP Vujcic speaks (text released), and will also participate in a separate panel; ECB’s Cipollone participates on a panel (no text). Poland’s NBP expected to hold (exp. 3.75%, prev. 3.75%). SUPPLY: US sells USD 39bln of 10yr notes, and announces a 20–30 year liquidity support buyback. Germany auctions EUR 4bln of 2033 debt; UK sells GBP 1.5bln of 2028 and 2031 via tender. FOMC MINUTES (19:00BST/14:00EDT): - The Fed unanimously hiked rates by 25bps in September, with the median participant projecting one more hike in 2026 and rates on hold through 2027. Since then, Williams and Jefferson have signalled no rush for further hikes and Bowman sees none, while softer PCE data and a soft jobs report, with unemployment rising to 4.2%, may leave the minutes stale. A full primer is available in Newsquawk’s week ahead note, available in the research suite.