Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 25th September 2026

APAC stocks were ultimately mixed following the inconclusive handover from the US, where the major indices finished flat after the bond rout deepened, while conditions were thinned in the region owing to the holiday closures in South Korea, Taiwan and Mainland China. ASX 200 was led lower by underperformance in tech and with nearly all sectors in the red aside from financials and consumer staples, while price action was not helped by the lack of catalysts and data releases. Nikkei 225 extended on recent momentum and rose above 66,000, while the index was unfazed and Japanese banks were underpinned by a higher yield environment, which saw the 30yr yield at its highest since its debut in 1999. Hang Seng suffered despite the pleasantries at the Trump-Xi summit and state dinner, as the meeting of the leaders failed to result in any major breakthroughs, while there were losses in nearly all but a handful of the Hong Kong benchmark's constituents and the Stock Connect was shut due to the closure in the mainland for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.43% at 6,273, Dax 40 -0.61% at 25,256, FTSE 100 -0.24% at 10,680, CAC 40 -0.52% at 8,081, FTSE MIB -0.85% at 51,543, IBEX 35 -0.30% at 19,573, PSI +0.54% at 9,685, SMI -0.11% at 13,906, AEX -0.10% at 1,107

BP (BP/ LN) - Co. reportedly eyes USD 2-5bln US shale deal; is evaluating acquisitions to expand its US shale business, according to sources; weighing a bid for Devon Energy's (DVN) Eagle Ford Asset, Reuters reports. (Reuters)

EU-UK-China - EU urges the UK to increase tariffs on Chinese cars to avoid ‘made in Europe’ barriers, according to FT. (FT)

UK GfK - UK GfK Consumer Confidence (Sep) -13 vs. Exp. -16 (Prev. -14). (GfK)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Glencore (GLEN LN) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS

Kerry (KYGA LN) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi

Next (NXT LN) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Citi

HelloFresh (HFG GY) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 1.55bln (exp. 1.53bln), Adj. EBITDA 120.6mln (exp. 117.8mln). Expects revenue for Q3'26 below market expectations and adjusts outlook for FY26. Sees FY Adj. EBITDA 250-370mln (exp. 372.9mln). The underperformance in new customer acquisitions can be predominantly explained by the magnitude of the reduction of the Q3 2026 marketing spend year-on-year, which is more pronounced versus H1 2026. (HelloFresh)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Airbus (AIR FP) - Airbus identified a corrosion protection defect affecting more than 500 A321neos, including roughly 250 aircraft still in production, according to The Air Current. The issue is not considered a safety risk, but may require inspections and rework, potentially pressuring deliveries. Airbus does not currently expect to change its FY26 delivery guidance, the article adds. (The Air Current)

Renault (RNO FP) - Co. plans to invest EUR 600mln in Spain through 2030, and begin EV production, Reuters reports. (Reuters)

Orange (ORA FP) - Co. announces that it has purchased treasury shares within the framework of its share buyback program. (Orange)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Alstom (ALO FP) - Awarded USD 90mln long term maintenance contract. (Alstom)

BROKER MOVES

TotalEnergies (TTE FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC

BROKER MOVES

HUBER+SUHNER (HUBN SW) - Co. to expand rail communications offering by acquiring Motion Applied’s Connected Intelligence business. (HUBER+SUHNER)

Nestle (NESN SW) - Co. appoints Manuela Bernasconi as Group General Counsel; Leanne Geale to retire at year-end. (Nestle)

UBS (UBSG SW) - Co. is reportedly mulling a merger with a foreign company as it looks to move out of Switzerland; a move which comes after the Swiss government decided to boost capital requirements, Semafor reports. (Semafor)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Divests second phase of H2Offices in Budapest for EUR 98mln. (Skanska)

Outokumpu (OUT1V FH) resumed with Buy at Bank of America

BROKER MOVES

CLOSES: SPX -0.02% at 7,704, NDX +0.03% at 30,479, DJI -0.31% at 51,355, RUT -0.11% at 2,836

SECTORS: Utilities -1.02%, Materials -1.01%, Consumer staples -0.96%, Industrials -0.71%, Real estate -0.37%, Technology -0.32%, Consumer discretionary -0.23%, Financials flat, Energy +0.4%, Health +0.67%, Communication services +1.92%.

Akamai (AKAM), Anthropic - Akamai signed a 7yr USD 11.6bln cloud services deal with Anthropic, and Anthropic was also granted a warrant for up to 5% of AKAM stock, according to Reuters. About 2% is tied to the initial commitment, with another 3% vesting if the deal expands by up to USD 9bln. Akamai expects roughly USD 5.5bln of related capex. (Newswires)

Costco (COST) - Q4 2026 (USD): EPS 6.75 (exp. 6.54), Total Revenue 95.7bln (exp. 95.0bln). (Costco)

Celanese (CE) - Celanese announced price increases for its ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene and polyoxymethylene engineered materials, citing recent market developments and global supply-chain disruptions. The increases will apply to shipments on or after 8th October, or as contracts otherwise permit. (Celanese)

T-Mobile (TMUS) - T-Mobile raised its quarterly dividend +15% to USD 1.17/shr. Deutsche Telekom (DTE GY) owns a majority stake of approximately 53% in T-Mobile US.

US-UK, OpenAI, Anthropic - The White House asked OpenAI and Anthropic not to share new AI models with the UK testing agency until US government testing is completed first, according to Politico. The report said the move represents another setback for UK PM Burnham’s push for a global AI agreement. (Politico)

This is the daily European opening digest rather than a single event, so the read is one of aggregation: the through-lines are the prior session's bond rout carrying into Asia, Japanese banks benefiting from a higher long-end yield environment, and a Trump-Xi summit that produced no breakthroughs, a pattern in which leader-level meetings without deliverables tend to fade quickly as a market driver. The stock-specific items cluster into familiar categories. The BP and UBS reports are source-based M&A and relocation speculation, the kind that historically trades on follow-up confirmation or denial rather than the initial story, with UBS's case tied to the established tension between Swiss capital requirements and the bank's domicile. The Airbus production defect follows the recurring airframer playbook: the tell is whether delivery guidance holds, since guidance language has tended to shift before the formal revision does. HelloFresh is a guidance cut on customer acquisition economics, a pattern that has previously been read across the subscription and meal-kit peer set. The broker upgrade cluster in UK consumer and miners is the kind of opening-flow item that typically moves the named names without broader read-across. The calendar items to track are follow-through on the reported deals and any official comment on the summit's lack of substance.