Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 12th January 2026

APAC stocks were mostly in the green, following on from the positivity seen stateside during Friday's session. Japanese traders were away today amid a domestic holiday. ASX 200 saw gains of as much as 0.7% as the APAC session got underway but pared back slightly as XAU pulled back from new record highs. Despite spot XAU pulling back, gold miners outperformed, followed by consumer discretionary and energy. KOSPI was the Asian outperformer, with gains as much as 1.5% but the index completely reversed the move alongside further losses in tech-laden NQ. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the regional gains, although upside was capped amid a lack of major drivers for the bourses.

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. is set to introduce domestically produced blank masks for its EUV lithography process by Q2, according to industry sources. (Newswires)

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +1.58% at 5,998, Dax 40 +0.52% at 25,258, FTSE 100 +0.80% at 10,125, CAC 40 +1.44% at 8,362, FTSE MIB +0.10% at 45,719, IBEX 35 -0.03% at 17,649, PSI +0.40% at 8,520, SMI +0.47% at 13,413, AEX +2.40% at 988

SECTORS: IT 4.41%, Energy 2.82%, Materials 1.67%, Consumer Stpl 1.36%, Consumer Disc 1.07%, Industrials 0.91%, Healthcare 0.54%, Utilities 0.17%, Financials 0.03%, Telecoms -0.03%

Games Workshop (GAW LN) - Positive mention in The Times, which highlighted strong brand loyalty ahead of earnings. (The Times)

Marks & Spencer (MKS LN) - Co. is facing legal action related to its "Brain Balls" range, accusing the Co. of copying the "Brain Food" product. M&S said "we do not agree there is any likelihood of confusion between the two products". (The Telegraph)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN), Glencore (GLEN LN), BHP Group (BHP AT) - Rio Tinto’s talks to buy Glencore could spur mining consolidation and pressure BHP to respond, driven largely by copper demand, according to analysts cited by Reuters. The article says that a Rio-Glencore deal could create a company worth around USD 200bln, challenging BHP’s USD 161bln scale, following recent Anglo American–Teck Resources merger plans. (Reuters)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Mondi (MNDI LN) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley; analysts suggest that the Co. is trading above its long-term multiples, adding that market fundamentals are subdued.

Deutsche Bank (DBK GY) - Deutsche Bank’s India retail and wealth management assets have drawn binding bids from Kotak Mahindra Bank. and Federal Bank, according to Bloomberg. The assets are estimated to have a book size of at least USD 2.5bln, with talks at an advanced stage, the report added. (Bloomberg)

German Telecoms - Telecoms tycoon Drahi has restarted the sale of his 50% stake in OXG Glasfaser, according to the FT citing documents. (FT)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Baywa (BYW6 GY) - Dr. Frank Hiller will step down from the Board of Management with immediate effect. (Baywa)

BROKER MOVES

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Sanofi’s Teizeild approved in the EU for patients with stage 2 type 1 diabetes. Approval based on the TN-10 phase 2 study that demonstrated a significant delay of onset of stage 3 T1D in stage 2 T1D patients. (Sanofi)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Vallourec (VK FP) - Co. announces that it has secured a significant contract with Shell, following a competitive bidding process. (Vallourec)

BROKER MOVES

Legrand (LR FP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

argenx (ARGX BB) - FY25 Prelim (USD): Global Net Sales USD 4.15bln, +90% Y/Y. VYVGART impact continues with approximately 19,000 patients on treatment; and if approved, AChR-Ab seronegative gMG launch expected by end of 2026. (argenx)

Fagron (FAGR BB) - Fagron announced the completion of the acquisition of University Compounding Pharmacy in North America. As previously disclosed, the enterprise value of the acquisition around USD 41.5mln.

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Co. is reportedly scrapping its plug-in hybrid electric Jeep SUV and Chrysler Minivan due to slowing EV sales, according to CNBC. (CNBC)

BROKER MOVES

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

EQT (EQT SS) - EQT Life Sciences to exit portfolio company Vivasure Medical in sale to Haemonetics. Vivasure's PerQseal Elite system uses a special bioabsorbable patch to seal large access sites in arteries or veins from the inside. (EQT)

Electrolux Professional (EPROB SS) - Co. has completed the acquisition of the assets of Royal Range. (Electrolux Professional)

BROKER MOVES

Pandora (PNDORA DC) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Nordea

Rockwool (ROCKB DC) resumed with Underperform at Bank of America

CLOSES: SPX +0.65% at 6,966, NDX +1.02% at 25,766, DJI +0.48% at 49,504, RUT +0.78% at 2,624

SECTORS: Health -0.58%, Financials -0.35%, Real Estate +0.19%, Energy +0.36%, Communication Services +0.75%, Technology +0.98%, Consumer Staples +1.09%, Industrials +1.11%, Consumer Discretionary +1.14%, Utilities +1.24%, Materials +1.80%.

Credit Card Companies - President Trump said on Truth Social he is calling for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates of 10%, citing some credit card interest rates of between 20-30%. He said the measure would take effect on 20th January. He gave no enforcement details in his update. FT reported that US credit card debt is around USD 1.1tln, with average rates near 20%. (FT)

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Johnson & Johnson announced longer follow-up results from the Phase 1b/2 OrigAMI-1 study of amivantamab-vmjw with FOLFOX or FOLFIRI in RAS/BRAF wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer, showing anti-tumour activity, durable responses and low discontinuations, supporting further Phase 3 investigation. Results were presented at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. (Newswires)

Pfizer (PFE) - Pfizer reported results from Cohort 3 of the BREAKWATER trial showing BRAFTOVI with cetuximab and FOLFIRI significantly improved objective response rate versus standard care in previously untreated BRAF V600E metastatic colorectal cancer. ORR was 64% versus 39%. Results were presented at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. (Newswires)

Rare Earths - The US is to host a meeting on rare earths this week, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Smartphone Makers - India proposed 83 smartphone security standards that could require sharing source code, alerting authorities to major software updates and enabling greater controls, prompting opposition from Apple (AAPL), Samsung (SSNLF), Google (GOOG) and Xiaomi (XIACY), Reuters reports. The plan targets rising fraud in a market of nearly 750mln phones, with consultations ongoing and the government disputing source code claims.

Venezuela, ExxonMobil (XOM) - Exxon CEO Woods said the oil major is ready to evaluate a potential return to Venezuela, but considers the country currently uninvestable, and the firm would need security guarantees and to see legal reform after past seizures, Reuters reports. (Reuters)