Daily US Equity Opening News - AAPL held constructive EU talks on Siri; MSFT plans job cuts; Anthropic export curbs lifted; NKE falls on demand view; SSTK-GETY merger terminated; BA outage disrupted production; KKR buys EDF unit for USD 4.2bln

DAY AHEAD:

• EVENTS: US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Doha to discuss US-Iran negotiations with mediators, not Iranian officials; no high-level or direct talks are scheduled in coming days, though technical talks between lower-ranking officials will continue this week, including on nuclear, economic, security and regional issues.
• DATA: US ADP employment change for June is expected to print 113K (prev. 122K); Challenger job cuts for June are seen at 85K (prev. 97.006K). Revelio Public Labour Statistics are also due. ISM Manufacturing PMI for June is expected to see the headline at 54.0 (prev. 54.0), prices paid at 79.0 (prev. 82.1), new orders at 56.0 (prev. 56.8) and employment at 49.0 (prev. 48.6). US construction spending for May is also due today. After today’s data releases, the Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q2 2026 tracking estimate will be updated (prev. 2.50%).
• CENTRAL BANKS: ECB Sintra forum closes; speakers from the event today include ECB President Lagarde, Fed Chair Warsh, BoE Governor Bailey, and BoC Governor Macklem, who will all participate in a policy panel. Elsewhere, ECB’s Vujcic, Cipollone and Lane (dovish) will chair sessions at Sintra.
• SUPPLY: Germany auctions EUR 3.5bln of 2032 debt; UK auctions GBP 1.25bln of 2031 linkers.
• ENERGY: EIA weekly energy inventories due; afterhours on Tuesday, API data reportedly showed headline crude stocks posting a larger than expected draw of -6.1mln bbls (exp. -4.1mln), Cushing stocks building by +0.5mln bbls; in the products, distillates posted a surprise build of +2.9mln bbls (exp. -0.9mln), while gasoline inventories saw a larger than expected draw of -2.1mln bbls (exp. -0.9mln).
• EARNINGS: Notable US corporates reporting today include: General Mills (GIS), FactSet (FDS).

NEWS:

GEOPOLITICS:

• Doha Talks - US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Doha to discuss US-Iran negotiations with mediators, not Iranian officials; no high-level or direct talks are scheduled in coming days, though technical talks between lower-ranking officials will continue this week, including on nuclear, economic, security and regional issues. Qatar’s PM and Foreign Minister met Witkoff and Kushner to discuss the latest developments; Witkoff and Kushner affirmed Washington’s commitment to the negotiating process and support for efforts toward a comprehensive agreement.
• US-Iran - US President Trump has discussed resuming full-scale attacks on Iran with Defence Secretary Hegseth and General Caine, according to US officials cited by the WSJ. Trump has opted to continue diplomatic talks for now, believing further attacks could derail diplomacy and efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme.

MACRO:

• Japan Tankan - Japan’s Q2 Tankan was stronger than expected, with large manufacturers at 22 (exp. 16) and large non-manufacturers at 37 (exp. 35), the highest readings in years. Capex plans also beat expectations at 11.5 (exp. 11), while corporate inflation expectations rose. The non-manufacturing outlook softened. Analysts said the data supports the view that Japan’s economy remains resilient despite geopolitical risks, strengthening the case for further BoJ tightening.
• JPY - Japan’s FX chief Mimura said recent JPY-buying intervention ‘clearly had meaning’, citing the market reaction and noting no US opposition. The comments came as USDJPY trades near 162.80, around a 40-year low for the Japanese currency, keeping traders alert to further action.
• China PMI - China’s RatingDog manufacturing PMI slipped to 51.7 in June (prev. 51.8); still, the Q2 average reached 51.9, the highest since Q4 2020. New orders rose for a thirteenth month, while input-cost inflation slowed, though economists cited reliance on exports and AI-related technology amid wider economic fragility.
• CNY/CNH - Bullish yuan bets are fading as options traders turn more positive on the US dollar after the Fed’s hawkish pivot, Bloomberg reports. Large USD/CNH call-option volumes have outpaced puts since 17th June, while one-month option skew now favours hedging against dollar-yuan gains, signalling reduced conviction in further yuan appreciation.

TECH:

• Apple (AAPL) - Apple CEO Tim Cook and EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen held constructive talks on Apple’s planned Siri AI launch in Europe, FT reports. Discussions covered how Apple could avoid fines under the Digital Markets Act, with Apple seeking assurances over a proposed “Trusted System Agent”, and EU officials resisting an interoperability delay.
• Microsoft (MSFT) - Microsoft plans to announce fresh job cuts affecting thousands of roles, including sales, consulting and Xbox, Business Insider reports. The reductions are expected to be less than 2.5% of its 220K workforce, and smaller than last year’s layoffs, as the company controls costs while increasing AI spending.
• Anthropic - Anthropic said the US government has lifted export restrictions on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5, with access to resume on Wednesday. Commerce Secretary Lutnick said Anthropic had addressed security risks and agreed to detect risks, collaborate on future releases and alert the government to malicious activity.
• SK Group, KKR & Co. (KKR) - SK Inc and KKR will launch South Korea’s largest renewable energy platform, valued at KRW 2tln, Reuters reports. The venture will combine SK Innovation, SK ecoplant and SK eternix assets across solar, wind and fuel cells, with 1.7GW operational capacity and a pipeline taking total capacity to 10GW.

COMMUNICATIONS:

• Alphabet (GOOG) - Google is rolling out Gemini Spark updates, including a Beta macOS app for Google AI Ultra subscribers aged 18+ in the US.
• Shutterstock (SSTK), Getty Images (GETY) - Shutterstock shares fell about 30% afterhours trading, and Getty Images shares fell around 10%, after Getty said it would terminate their planned merger following a UK CMA ruling, which required Getty to sell its editorial photography business for the USD 3.7bln deal’s approval.
• EchoStar (SATS) - Dish DBS, a unit of EchoStar, filed for prepackaged Chapter 11 in Texas after reaching a creditor deal. The plan is intended to facilitate early repayment of Dish DBS debt and support transition of Dish Wireless after spectrum sales.

CONSUMER:

• Nike (NKE) - Nike shares fell 3% in extended trading as cautious demand commentary, pressure on consumers worldwide and ongoing weakness in Greater China outweighed stronger-than-expected results. It reported Q4 EPS 0.72 (exp. 0.13), including a 0.52 benefit related to the expected recovery of IEEPA tariffs; Q4 revenue USD 11.0bln (exp. 10.85bln). Nike Brand revenue was flat at USD 10.7bln, and -3% cFX; wholesale revenue +4% to USD 6.6bln; Nike Direct revenue -7% to USD 4.1bln; Converse revenue -32% to USD 244mln. Greater China revenue -17% in cFX, North America revenue +3%. CEO Elliott Hill said Nike is not living up to its full potential and progress remains uneven, with the turnaround still facing weak sportswear demand, challenged Jordan streetwear sell-through, elevated inventory clean-up and pressure on global consumers. CFO Matthew Friend said the operating environment became more challenging through Q4 and is not expected to improve over the next six months. Nike sees Q1 revenue down low to mid-single digits, Q1 gross margin slightly positive, Q1 SG&A dollars flat and FY26 tax rate in the low 20% range, assuming incremental tariff rates of 10% through 31st July 2026 and 15% thereafter.
• Constellation Brands (STZ) - Shares rose 2.5% in extended trading after better-than-expected results, resilient beer sales and reaffirmed profit guidance outweighed a revenue decline linked to wine and spirits divestitures. Q1 comparable EPS 3.43 (exp. 3.23), Q1 revenue USD 2.43bln (exp. 2.40bln). Beer segment net sales rose 2% to USD 2.28bln, supported by demand for brands including Corona and Modelo Especial, and wine and spirits organic net sales rose 8%. Enterprise organic net sales grew, and share gained despite a discerning and value-conscious consumer environment. Sees FY27 comparable EPS between 11.20-11.90 (exp. 11.74), reaffirming its prior view; sees FY27 capex of USD 800mln, and FCF between USD 1.6-1.7bln.
• Papa John’s (PZZA) - Papa John’s named Chris Collins interim CFO, effective immediately, succeeding Ravi Thanawala, who is leaving for a CFO role at another public company. Thanawala will advise until 31st July. Papa John’s has begun a permanent CFO search.
• Kura Sushi (KRUS) - Kura Sushi plans to grow its US store count by 20% annually and exceed 100 locations this year, Bloomberg reports. Exec said the chain aims to secure markets before rivals expand, with a longer-term target of about 300 US locations and operating profitability within one to two years.
• Sysco (SYY) - Sysco was awarded a USD 281.02mln Defence Logistics Agency contract for full-line food and beverage items.
• Associated British Foods (ASBFY) - ABF still expects annual profit below the prior year, after it reported flat Q3 revenue; Primark, which ABF plans to spin-off from its food businesses, saw revenue up 3%.
• Pirelli (PRLLY) - Pirelli said it plans a multi-year US investment programme worth USD 1.0-1.2bln to increase production capacity in the country.
• BMW (BMW) - BMW will buyback up to EUR 625mln in shares as part of its third tranche of its share buyback programme.

FINANCIALS:

• KKR & Co. (KKR) - KKR agreed to acquire EDF power solutions’ US and Canadian renewable operations from EDF for about USD 4.2bln, with potential additional payments of up to USD 0.39bln.
• European Banks - The ECB is considering raising banks’ minimum reserve requirements to 2% of customer deposits (from 1%), Reuters reports; the move would aim to reduce the ECB’s interest bill and mitigate inflation-related side effects; a decision expected in the Autumn.
• Schroders (SHNWF) - Schroders is close to selling financial planning arm Benchmark Capital to Soderberg & Partners for more than GBP 200mln, according to the FT; the sale would support its focus on UHNW clients.

INDUSTRIALS:

• Caterpillar (CAT) - Investor Michael Burry said he is shorting Caterpillar for the first time; he said Caterpillar’s valuation had become stretched after an 86% H1 gain, citing its record price-to-sales ratio and broader concerns over AI-linked stock valuations. He also now has bearish positions in Nvidia (NVDA), Applied Materials (AMAT), Tesla (TSLA) and the iShares Semiconductor ETF, CNBC reports.
• SpaceX (SPCX) - SpaceX is offering discounted Starlink internet plans in Memphis, Tennessee, after local opposition and legal challenges over SpaceXAI data centres, Bloomberg reports. Customers can access plans at half the monthly price, while new users avoid upfront hardware costs. The company also agreed to resume construction of a recycled wastewater plant in Memphis.
• Bloom Energy (BE) - Bloom Energy and Brookfield expanded their AI infrastructure power partnership to USD 25bln (from USD 5bln), Reuters reports. The financing will support global deployment of Bloom’s fuel cells for AI data centres.
• Boeing (BA) - Boeing said an unplanned IT outage affected some computer systems and applications, but said it understood the cause and had no reason to believe it was a cyberattack, The Air Current reports. The outage significantly disrupted commercial and military production, with final commercial jet inspections and paperwork largely halted.
• Lockheed Martin (LMT) - Lockheed was awarded a USD 3bln Army contract for Sentinel A4 radar production and engineering services.
• Schneider Electric (SBGSY) - Schneider Electric agreed to AI software and industrial data provider Cognite Holding for USD 3.1bln in cash; Cognite will be integrated into Schneider’s industrial software business, AVEVA; completion is expected in coming quarters.
• KNDS - KNDS is struggling to convince investors to back its planned IPO at a valuation above EUR 12bln, with some telling the Franco-German tankmaker in preliminary talks that it is worth less, FT reports. The German family shareholder, which holds 50% alongside the French government, will not proceed below EUR 12.5bln, while valuations of EUR 18-20bln had been discussed earlier this year. A final decision is likely next week, with postponement possible if demand is insufficient.

ENERGY:

• Crude Surplus - Goldman Sachs said the global oil market is set to return to oversupply as Iran war effects fade and Strait of Hormuz traffic recovers; its analysts see the surplus averaging just over 3mln BPD next year, partly offset by over 1mln BPD of strategic reserve rebuilding.
• Energy Inventories - Afterhours on Tuesday, API data reportedly showed headline crude stocks posting a larger than expected draw of -6.1mln bbls (exp. -4.1mln), Cushing stocks building by +0.5mln bbls; in the products, distillates posted a surprise build of +2.9mln bbls (exp. -0.9mln), while gasoline inventories saw a larger than expected draw of -2.1mln bbls (exp. -0.9mln).
• Shell (SHEL), Talos Energy (TALO) - Shell agreed to sell its interests in the Na Kika platform, associated Gulf of America fields and the Coulomb tieback to subsidiaries of Talos Energy and Ridgewood Energy for USD 1.7bln. The assets produced about 37K barrels of oil equivalent per day net to Shell in 2025. Closing is expected by end-2026.

MATERIALS:

• Alcoa (AA), South32 (SOUHY) - Alcoa will acquire South32’s bauxite, alumina and aluminium assets for upfront consideration of about USD 4.1bln, comprising USD 3.1bln cash and around 17mln new Alcoa shares. The deal implies enterprise value of about USD 4.7bln, and includes a CVR of up to USD 750mln. The deal is expected to close in H1 2027.
• Teck Resources (TECK), Anglo American (NGLOY) - Teck Resources mailed a letter of transmittal and election form to registered holders of its Class A and Class B shares regarding its merger of equals with Anglo American. Each Teck share will be exchanged for 1.3301 Anglo American ordinary shares, or exchangeable shares for eligible Canadian shareholders who elect that option.

HEALTHCARE:

• Align Technology (ALGN) - Align Technology said the European Commission’s investigation is purely procedural and based on a competitor complaint. The company disputed suggestions of unfair practices, said iTero scans can be exported for aligners other than Invisalign, and said it will cooperate fully while maintaining that its scanner and scan acceptance policies comply with competition laws.