EUROPEAN OPEN: FRE GY secures options for 37 WuXi biosimilars; BoE mulls easing mortgage rules; RYA ID plans cost cuts as fuel costs rise; BP/ LN completes Castrol stake sale for USD 6bln; TTE FP acquires 30% interest in Malaysian gas fields; ALO FP cuts

EUROPEAN OPEN: European equities have started the week mixed; overnight, APAC stocks were also mixed, partially recovering from Friday’s Wall St. tech sell-off, which briefly pushed the Nasdaq into correction territory following weak earnings. Still, investors remain cautious ahead of Tuesday’s US midterm elections, and potential renewed US strikes on Iran thereafter. Chinese stocks were supported by profit growth at China’s four largest banks, and reports suggesting that regulators and major lenders were set to have talks on capital market support today (at pixel time, we are still awaiting an official readout). The PBoC also shifted its main policy anchor from seven-day to overnight reverse repos. Elsewhere, China’s official PMIs missed expectations, and entered contraction, while the RatingDog manufacturing PMI remained in expansionary territory. Brent fell to below USD 110/bbl, and WTI slipped below USD 101/bbl after US President Trump signalled a preference for further Iran diplomacy before potentially resuming strikes, according to an Axios report. Additionally, the US is reportedly pushing to resume Russian gas sales to Europe via Ukraine, potentially using an American intermediary to bypass sanctions as part of energy ceasefire negotiations, WSJ said; Washington proposed holding proceeds in escrow, with Ukraine receiving transit fees; EU legislation mandates ending Russian gas purchases by 2027. Elsewhere, OPEC+ kept December oil production targets unchanged amid continued disruptions to Gulf exports from the Iran war. Goldman Sachs raised its December Brent forecast to USD 105/bbl (prev. saw 90/bbl) and 2027 average to USD 88/bbl, citing substantial supply risks; the bank’s base case assumes a 1mln BPD global supply disruption in 2027. In its bullish scenario, GS sees Brent averaging USD 130/bbl next year. Gold rebounded above USD 3,900/oz after Friday’s slump to a one-year low. Lower oil prices and bargain buying supported the recovery. Analysts at Saxo Bank warned that gold remained vulnerable below USD 4K amid liquidity pressures and technical selling. Silver rose towards USD 50/oz. Copper rebounded as technology stocks stabilised and oil prices declined, following Friday’s decline and a third consecutive weekly loss; analysts note that supply concerns persist after Chilean copper output fell to its lowest quarterly level in at least two decades. In Europe, Fitch Ratings unexpectedly revised France’s credit outlook from stable to negative, while maintaining its A+ rating. The CRA cited weaker growth, higher borrowing costs, a widening deficit and political fragmentation. Comes as public debt approaches 120% of GDP, and 10yr government bond yields hover near 5%. STOCK SPECIFICS: HEALTHCARE: Fresenius (FRE GY) entered an exclusive development agreement with WuXi Biologics, securing options for up to 37 potential first-to-market biosimilars. The deal could expand its portfolio from 29 marketed and pipeline molecules to 66 over the next decade, targeting over EUR 370bln in originator sales. FINANCIALS: Of note for UK banks, the BoE is reportedly considering easing restrictions on higher-risk mortgages by raising the loan-to-income threshold to 5 times household income (vs 4.5 times), FT reports; the FPC is examining the proposal amid pressure from lenders and the government to support the UK housing market. Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY LN) reportedly launched a voluntary redundancy programme across several divisions, with participating employees expected to leave in Q1 2027, according to The Times. Euronext (ENX FP) plans to appoint NN Group CEO David Knibbe to replace Stephane Boujnah, who steps down in May 2027. Knibbe’s formal nomination is scheduled for 20th May 2027, following his departure from NN Group on 1st March 2027. INDUSTRIALS: Ryanair (RYA ID) plans cost cuts, potentially including pay freezes, reduced crew staffing and revised airport agreements, to offset an expected EUR 2bln increase in fuel costs next year, Bloomberg reports. H1 after-tax profit fell 15% to EUR 2.15bln (prev. 2.54bln). The airline forecasts FY2027 passenger traffic of 214mln (prev. 216mln) and announced an EUR 800mln buyback. Alstom (ALO FP) H1 2026 sales EUR 9.3bln (exp. 9.6bln), orders EUR 11bln (prev. 10.5bln); cut FY2026/27 guidance: now sees sales growth in the low-to-mid single digits, production to 4,000 cars, adj. EBIT margin to 1%, and free cash flow to EUR -1.5bln. It is also exploring EUR 2bln debt reduction by September 2027. ENERGY: BP (BP/ LN) completed the sale of a 65% stake in its Castrol lubricants business to Stonepeak Partners, receiving USD 6bln to reduce debt. TotalEnergies (TTE FP) signed agreements with PETRONAS Carigali, PTTEP and KUFPEC to acquire a 30% operated interest in the Lang Lebah and B14 offshore gas fields in Sarawak, Malaysia. TECH: Kioxia (KXIAY) shares fell as much as 17% overnight after forecasting December-quarter operating profit of JPY 2tln (prev. saw 1.99tln), raising concerns over slowing AI-driven memory demand; it attributed limited growth to shipment timing rather than weaker demand, said next year’s planned output was sold out, and expects rapid growth to resume in the March quarter. OpenAI cut its fundraising target to USD 20bln from USD 30bln and valuation to USD 1.25tln from USD 1.4tln, the FT reports. Anthropic (ANT) aims to raise up to USD 3.5bln from Japanese investors in its US IPO, Bloomberg reports. DeepSeek released an open-source prototype coding agent called Super Agent to challenge Anthropic’s Claude Code, Bloomberg reports. DAY AHEAD: EVENTS: China’s NPC Standing Committee meeting (2-6 Nov). DATA: In Europe; final manufacturing PMIs for the Eurozone (exp. 52.4, prev. 52.9), Germany (exp. 54.2, prev. 53.9), France (exp. 49.3, prev. 50.6) and the UK (exp. 52.8, prev. 51.9). In North America, ISM manufacturing is seen at 54.7 (prev. 54.5), with prices paid at 78.0 (prev. 77.9), new orders at 55.4 (prev. 55.3), and employment at 53.0 (prev. 52.7). Final S&P Global manufacturing PMI is expected to rise to 56.0 (prev. 55.9); construction spending (prev. 0.9% M/M) and Atlanta Fed GDPNow (prev. 3.2%) are also due. Canada manufacturing PMI (prev. 51.5). CENTRAL BANKS: Fed releases its Q3 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey; Fed’s Goolsbee (2027 voter) moderates a Q&A. ECB’s Vujcic (neutral) speaks (text expected) and gives a fireside chat (no text expected). SUPPLY: US Treasury publishes Q4 financing estimates ahead of Wednesday’s Quarterly Refunding Announcement. EARNINGS: Notable corporate earnings reports due today include: Apple (AAPL), Palantir (PLTR), Vertex (VRTX), Marriott International (MAR), Williams Companies (WMB), Diamondback Energy (FANG), Realty Income (O), Entergy (ETR), IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX), Estee Lauder (EL), Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG), ON Semiconductor (ON), Fox (FOXA), Roku (ROKU), SBA Communications (SBAC).