Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 24th February 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks traded with a mostly positive bias as key participants returned to the market and with the region attempting to shrug off the weak lead from Wall St, where sentiment was weighed on by trade uncertainty and AI disruption concerns. ASX 200 struggled for direction as outperformance in the mining, energy and resources sectors was offset by losses in tech, real estate and financials, while participants continued to digest a slew of earnings. Nikkei 225 rallied to back above the 57,000 level on return from the long weekend, but is off today's best levels amid losses in tech stocks and after China's MOFCOM added 20 Japanese companies to its export control list, which bans Chinese exports of dual-use items. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed with the mainland boosted on return from a 10-day closure and got the first opportunity to react to the recent US tariff developments, which are seen to benefit China the most, while the Hong Kong benchmark underperformed in a reversal of the prior day's rally amid notable losses in tech and pharmaceuticals.

China-Japan - China MOFCOM adds 20 Japanese companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to its export control list for military activities which bans exports of dual-use items, while it will add another 20 groups to a watch list. (Newswires)

PBoC LPR - Chinese Loan Prime Rate 5Y (Feb) 3.50% vs. Exp. 3.50% (Prev. 3.50%); Loan Prime Rate 1Y (Feb) 3.00% vs. Exp. 3.00% (Prev. 3.00%). (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.24% at 6,117, Dax 40 -1.09% at 24,987, FTSE 100 -0.02% at 10,685, CAC 40 -0.22% at 8,497, FTSE MIB +0.49% at 46,699, IBEX 35 +0.57% at 18,290, PSI +1.71% at 9,246, SMI +0.21% at 13,866, AEX -0.12% at 1,016

SECTORS: Utilities 1.11%, Energy 0.90%, Telecoms 0.44%, Consumer Stpl 0.43%, Materials 0.00%, Financials -0.27%, Consumer Disc -0.50%, IT -0.96%, Industrials -1.04%, Healthcare -1.30%

FTSE 100

Standard Chartered (STAN LN/2888 HK) - Q4 2025 (USD) Adj. Pre-tax 1.24bln (exp. 1.38bln), Oper. Revenue 4.85bln (exp. 4.91bln), Pretax Profit 814mln (exp. 1.1bln), NII 3bln, -1% Y/Y. FY2025 profit attributable 5.1bln, +25.6% Y/Y. Co. announces additional USD 1.5bln share buyback. CEO: “We are seeing robust growth in our larger markets, and structural shifts in global trade”. 2026 Outlook: Reported operating income growth year-on-year to be around the bottom end of 5-7% range at constant currency. Net interest income is expected to be broadly flat year-on-year at constant currency. (Standard Chartered)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Ashmore (ASHM LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

Johnson Matthey (JMAT LN) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan

Qinetiq (QQ/ LN) initiated with Hold at Peel Hunt

DAX

Fresenius Medical Care (FME GY) - Q4 2025 (EUR): Revenue 5.07bln (exp. 5.03bln, prev. 5.09bln Y/Y), Adj. Operating Income 705mln (prev. 589mln Y/Y), Adj. Op. Profit 594mln (exp. 565mln), EPS 1.44 (prev. 0.9 Y/Y). Declares dividend of EUR 1.49/shr (prev. EUR 1.44/shr). Expects rev. growth to be broadly flat in 2026. Sees 2026 Op. Profit Before Special Items on Consistent Level. (Fresenius Medical Care)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Co. unveils next generation rotorcraft concepts of NATO supplies. (Airbus)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Edenred (EDEN FP) - FY 2025 (EUR): Revenue 2.96bln (exp. 2.95bln), EBITDA 1.36bln (exp. 1.34bln), Net Income 521mln (exp. 508mln). (Edenred)

Forvia (FRVIA FP) - FY 2025 (EUR): Sales 26.2bln (exp. 26.3bln), Net Cash Flow 962mln, +47% Y/Y. FY Outlook: Revenue 20-21bln (exp. 26.4bln). The Group expects the production environment to remain volatile and uncertain in 2026. (Forvia)

Technip Energies (TE FP) - Co. awarded a contract for the Coral Norte floating LNG project in Mozambique. (Technip Energies)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

COBOL-exposed stocks - Anthropic says Claude code can now automate COBOL modernization efforts. (Anthropic) Some names include; Capgemini (CAP FP), Atos (ATO FP), and the European banking sector.; For reference, Common business-oriented language (COBOL) is a high-level, English-like, compiled programming language developed specifically for business data processing (via IBM)

EU-US Trade - EU warns the US that President Trump's new tariff policy breaks the trade agreement. (Newswires)

Geopols - Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Caine has been advising President Trump and top officials that a military campaign against Iran could carry significant risks, in particular possibility of becoming entangled in a prolonged conflict, Axios reports citing source. (Axios)

JDE Peets (JDEP NA) - FY 2025 (EUR): Sales 9.92bln (exp. 10.2bln), EPS 1.64 (exp. 1.48), Adj. EBIT 1.3bln (exp. 1.28bln). Highlights good progress related to Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) acquisition. Closing of the offer is expected early in the second quarter of 2026, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the closing conditions. (JDE Peets)

Solvay (SOLB BB) - FY 2025 (EUR): Net Sales 4.3bln, -6.5% Y/Y, EBITDA 881mln -13.4% Y/Y. (Solvay)

Telefonica (TEF SM) - Q4 2025 (EUR): Revenue 9.17bln (exp. 9.42bln), Adj. EBITDA 3.2bln (exp. 3.2bln), Net Income; sees 2026 revenue growth of 1.5-2.5% growth annually. (Telefonica)

Wienerberger (WIE AV) - FY 2025 (EUR): Revenue 4.6bln (exp. 4.65bln), EBITDA 754mln (prev. 760mln Y/Y). Outlook 2026: Slight improvement in operating EBITDA expected despite continued market volatility (excluding acquisition). Announces acquisition: Has signed an agreement to acquire Italcer Group. The acquisition strengthens Wienerberger’s position in the growing renovation segment, serves as a new growth platform and is expected to contribute midterm more than EUR 100mln to Group EBITDA. (Wienerberger)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Kuehne + Nagel (KNIN SW) - KOKI Group partners with the Co. to optimise its European distributions. (Kuehne + Nagel)

Sika (SIKA SW) - Co. proposes to increase gross dividend by 2.8% to CHF 3.7/shr. (Sika)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

PSP Swiss Property (PSPN SW) - FY 2025 (CHF): EPS 8.91 (exp. 7.20), Rental Income 349.2mln (prev. 350mln Y/Y). (PSP Swiss Property)

SGS (SGSN SW) - Co. acquires American company, RTI Laboratories for an undisclosed amount. (SGS)

BROKER MOVES

Galenica (GALE SW) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS

SCANDINAVIA

Maersk (MAERSKB DC) - The Financial Times reports that Maersk and MSC are to take temporary control of key ports of the Panama Canal. (Financial Times)

BROKER MOVES

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Nordea

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT cut to DKK 280/shr (prev. DKK 400/shr)

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.04% at 6,838, NDX -1.21% at 24,709, DJI -1.66% at 48,804, RUT -1.61% at 2621

SECTORS: Materials +2.04%, Health +1.96%, Industrials +1.38%, Consumer Discretionary +0.94%, Technology +0.66%, Real Estate +0.62%, Utilities +0.49%, Financials +0.45%, Consumer Staples +0.13%, Communication Services -0.49%, Energy -2.81%

Trade - US President Trump reportedly considers new national security tariffs after SCOTUS ruling, in which new levies on a half-dozen industries would be issued separately from the new global 15% flat-rate tariff, according to WSJ. (WSJ)

Cerebras - Cerebras Systems has confidentially filed for a US IPO for a second time, seeking to capitalise on strong demand for high-performance computing infrastructure and a major supply agreement with OpenAI. The AI chip designer is renewing its public listing efforts amid heightened interest in advanced computing capacity, DigiTimes reports.

Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) - Shares fell over 8% in extended trading after it forecast Q1 revenue below expectations, citing a headwind from changes to personalised weight-loss product shipping and ongoing regulatory pressures on its weight-loss business. Reported Q4 EPS of 0.08 (exp. 0.19), Q4 revenue USD 617.82mln (exp. 617.25mln). Said its platform now serves more than 2.5mln subscribers (+13%). It flagged a USD 65mln headwind in Q1 related to changes in shipping of personalised weight-loss products following regulatory developments; management said the majority of revenue and profitability is driven by offerings outside weight loss and reiterated plans to diversify, including international expansion. For Q1, sees revenue between USD 600-625mln (exp. 652.59mln), and adj. EBITDA between USD 35-55mln. For FY26, sees revenue between USD 2.7-2.9bln (exp. 2.71bln), and adj. EBITDA between USD 300-375mln.

JPMorgan (JPM) - JPMorgan said Q1 investment banking fees and trading revenue are expected to rise by a mid-teens percentage Y/Y. It now sees FY net interest income of about USD 104.5bln (prev. 103bln), and maintained its FY net interest income (ex-CIB) at around USD 95bln.

PayPal (PYPL) - PayPal is attracting takeover interest from banks and at least one large rival, with some parties considering the whole company and others specific assets, according to Raymond James. Potential buyers include Alphabet (GOOG), Meta (META), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL), while private equity and bank deals appear unlikely given its USD 50bln+ size, Bloomberg reports.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Paramount Skydance (PSKY) - Paramount Skydance has reportedly raised its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, increasing its previous USD 30/shr offer in an effort to outbid Netflix (NFLX), Bloomberg reports. Details of the revised proposal were not disclosed. The revised bid seeks to address concerns including greater certainty of financing as the takeover battle continues. If Warner accepts Paramount’s offer, it will owe Netflix a USD 2.8bln breakup fee under their existing agreement.