Daily US Equity Opening News - Foxconn Q2 sales rise; BABA wins reprieve from lobbying restrictions; UBER pauses European food delivery expansion; TSLA launches robotaxis in Miami; STUB faces Texas probe; HON spin-off in talks on USD 27bln merger

DAY AHEAD:

DATA: In Europe, Eurozone PPI is expected to rise 0.2% M/M (prev. 0.6%), and the annual rate is seen rising to 5.7% Y/Y from 4.9%. Eurozone retail sales are seen declining by -0.6% M/M in May (prev. -0.4%), with the annual rate seen cooling exp. 0.8% Y/Y (prev. 1.0%). In North America, the headline ISM Services PMI for June is expected to pare to 54.0 from 54.5), prices paid at 69.0 (prev. 71.3), new orders at 57.0 (prev. 57.3).
CENTRAL BANKS: Fed’s Waller will take part on a policy panel. ECB’s Lane gives a dinner speech (text release expected), ECB’s Schnabel participates on a policy panel, ECB’s President Lagarde will participate in a conversation (no text expected). BoE’s Mann will speak on the future of UK economic data. Bank of Israel interest rate decision is likely to cut rates 25bps to 3.50%; BoC’s Business Outlook Survey for July published.
WEEK AHEAD: This week’s economic data release highlights include: FOMC minutes, ECB minutes, Chinese inflation figures, and an RBNZ policy announcement. The corporate earnings slate is light, but includes PEP & DAL.
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NEWS:

GEOPOLITICS:

US-Iran - Islamabad is reportedly the more likely venue for the next round of US-Iran technical talks, with 11th July touted as the date. Negotiations are expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear programme, frozen Iranian assets, the Strait of Hormuz and the Lebanon ceasefire.
Hormuz - Iran’s ambassador to Beijing said China and other friendly nations will receive special considerations under new Strait of Hormuz arrangements developed in collaboration with Oman. Iran’s commercial attache told IRNA that maritime trade between Iran and Qatar has resumed following Qatar’s Transport Ministry announcement that maritime activities would restart with immediate effect. Elsewhere, oil and gas tanker traffic through the Strait showed signs of recovering on 6th July, with six vessels observed navigating the Omani coastal route a day after unexplained U-turns by at least eight ships. Kpler data showed 19 vessels crossed in either direction on 5th July.
US-Israel - President Trump spoke with Israeli PM Netanyahu on Friday, and agreed to meet in the US soon, Axios said. Israel is preparing to hand over two limited areas in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese army under a US-backed framework agreement; Netanyahu held a security cabinet meeting on Sunday evening. The Lebanese army is yet to provide any confirmation. Israeli Army Chief of Staff said operations to eliminate threats from Lebanese soil would continue, as Israeli airstrikes hit multiple towns in southern Lebanon.
US-Russia-Ukraine - President Trump and President Putin held an 85-minute call on 5th July, covering Ukraine and the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara (7-8th July); Trump reaffirmed a readiness to facilitate a swift end to hostilities, with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner prepared to travel to Moscow. Trump also spoke separately with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
US-China - China released Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, leader of the underground Zion Church, after President Trump personally raised the case with Xi Jinping at their May summit. Jin arrived in Los Angeles on 5th July, in what ChinaAid described as a goodwill gesture coinciding with US Independence Day. Eight other Zion Church members remain in detention.
China-Russia - China’s Ministry of National Defence said China and Russia will conduct the “Joint Sea 2026” naval exercise near Qingdao in July, followed by a joint maritime patrol in the Pacific Ocean. The activities form part of an annual military cooperation plan to address security challenges and maintain regional peace and stability.

TRADE:

China-EU - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China welcomes deeper cooperation with Swedish and European businesses, during a meeting with Investor AB Chairman Jacob Wallenberg in Stockholm. Wang said China would continue to boost domestic demand, advance high-level opening-up and uphold free-trade principles.
NZ Trade - New Zealand’s Trade Minister said the governing National Party will begin negotiations for seven new trade deals within five years if it wins the November election, targeting Brazil, Switzerland, Argentina, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Uruguay and the European Free Trade Association. The seven markets currently account for NZD 1.8bln of New Zealand’s exports.

MACRO:

US Regulations - The Trump administration released a regulatory plan to eliminate 702 existing rules, a record for a White House semiannual agenda, roughly double the number under consideration at any point during Trump’s first term, Bloomberg reports. The administration projects USD 1.5tln in economy-wide savings through all regulations terminated by end of September 2026, with USD 1.3tln attributed to repealing the 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding.
Germany Fiscal - Germany plans to increase net new borrowing for 2027 to EUR 118bln, approximately 7% above the April projection, reflecting weaker-than-expected tax revenue, rising debt-servicing costs and additional funding needs at the Federal Employment Agency, Bloomberg reports. Federal revenue is forecast at EUR 555bln, with interest payments projected to rise nearly 40% to just under EUR 42bln. Defence spending of EUR 140bln and a EUR 500bln infrastructure programme remain outside constitutional borrowing limits.
JPY - Goldman Sachs revised its USDJPY forecast to 165 in a year’s time (from 155), citing Japanese fiscal pressures and higher-for-longer US Treasury yields, as it only expects gradual BoJ rate hikes. GS also favours the yen as a carry trade funding currency.
FX Carry - EM investors including Invesco and AllianceBernstein are diversifying carry trade funding away from the USD toward the EUR, AUD and JPY, as a stronger USD narrows yield differentials, Bloomberg reports. Morgan Stanley has recommended expressing EM optimism against a broader basket, while Citigroup favoured the BRL against the EUR and AUD. HSBC said that a stronger USD dollar has replaced geopolitical risks as the top EM concern, according to its survey of 101 institutions.
UK Politics - The likely next PM, Andy Burnham, announced that he will keep the pension triple lock. Elsewhere, a group of economists, including Burnham adviser Jim O’Neill, have called for a wide-ranging UK tax overhaul, urging the next government to consider scrapping stamp duty and council tax.

TECH:

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (HNHPF) - Foxconn reported Q2 revenue +40% Y/Y at TWD 2.51tln (exp. 2.37tln), driven by AI-related product demand which offset a slight decline in consumer electronics and computing. AI rack shipments are expected to maintain momentum in Q3, with ICT demand entering peak season.
Micron Technology (MU) - Micron broke ground on a Hiroshima factory expansion to produce advanced memory chips, including high-bandwidth memory for AI processors. The project costs JPY 1.5tln, with equipment delivery and installation due to start in H2 2028. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has allocated up to JPY 500bln toward the cost.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) - Japanese self-driving startup Turing raised USD 79mln in an equity and debt extension to its Series A round, valuing the company at approximately USD 600mln, and added AMD Ventures as a backer, Bloomberg reports. Turing has begun handling roughly 10% of its AI training with AMD GPUs to diversify from Nvidia (NVDA) and reduce costs, targeting a consumer and robotaxi commercial launch as early as 2028.
OpenAI - Unverified reports suggest that OpenAI plans to launch GPT-5.6 between 7-9th July; 7th July is seen as the most likely date.
Uber Technologies (UBER) - Uber has paused planned food delivery expansion in five of seven targeted European countries (including Austria, Norway and Greece), five months after announcing a push targeting USD 1bln in additional gross bookings over three years, FT reports. The company continues pursuing its EUR 10bln bid for Delivery Hero (DELHY), which was rejected in May, with Prosus (PROSY) considering expanding its stake in a move that could complicate the acquisition.
Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) - Samsung is projected to report Q2 operating profit of KRW 84.3tln on Tuesday, which would be an 18-fold jump Y/Y; revenue is forecast to rise 127% to a record KRW 169tln, according to analyst estimates, Bloomberg reports, as DRAM prices climbed over 40% in the quarter, and NAND prices by over 50%.

COMMUNICATIONS:

Meta Platforms (META) - India’s technology ministry told Meta to remove advertisements and other content involving abuse and sexual exploitation of children from platforms including Instagram, after a BBC investigation published on Friday found child abuse material was used in some Instagram advertisements in India. Meta was ordered to provide a detailed response within the next week.
StubHub (STUB) - Texas Attorney General launched an investigation into StubHub over widespread reports of cancelled or undelivered 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets. StubHub attributed the cancellations to transfer problems with FIFA’s ticketing platform, though consumer complaints allege a broader pattern of “ghost ticketing,” whereby sellers list tickets they do not possess, collect payment, and cancel when unable to deliver.
SK Telecom (SKM) - SK Telecom will construct an AI data centre with capacity of up to 15GW, aiming to become an AI infrastructure hub in Asia. The company said the move is intended to build domestic AI computing infrastructure as demand for AI model training and inference increases.
ITV (ITVPY), Comcast (CMCSA) - Comcast’s Sky agreed to acquire ITV’s media and entertainment arm for GBP 1.6bln, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, in a deal that would create the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster. The transaction includes the ITVX streaming platform and ITV’s free-to-air channels but excludes ITV’s studio operations.
Comcast (CMCSA) - ‘Minions & Monsters’ led the 4th July holiday weekend, with USD 61.4mln in US and Canadian box office sales. The franchise has grossed over USD 5.6bln in ticket sales since 2010. Comes as Comcast last week announced plans to separate its NBCUniversal media arm from its broadband business into two publicly traded companies.

CONSUMER:

Alibaba (BABA) - A federal judge ordered the Pentagon to grant Alibaba a temporary reprieve from lobbying restrictions tied to the DoD’s 1260H blacklist, while she considers the constitutionality of the measure. The restriction caused all of Alibaba’s registered lobbyists to withdraw their registrations after a new law barred Defence Department contractors from representing Pentagon-blacklisted entities, Bloomberg reports.
Alibaba (BABA), ByteDance - ByteDance and Alibaba are removing AI companion features from their Doubao and Qwen chatbot platforms ahead of Beijing regulations taking effect in mid-July, per app notifications cited by Bloomberg. The rules prohibit content triggering extreme emotions in minors, fostering unhealthy emotional dependencies, and using sensitive conversation data to train AI models. Tencent’s Yuanbao has issued similar alerts.
Continental (CTTAY) - Continental agreed to sell its ContiTech plastics and rubber business to Lone Star Funds for EUR 4bln, plus potential performance-based components of up to EUR 250mln in subsequent years, Reuters reports. Continental expects cash proceeds of about EUR 3.1bln, and plans to distribute around EUR 2.5bln to shareholders after completion.
Tesla (TSLA) - Tesla has launched its robotaxi service in Miami, expanding autonomous ride-hailing operations following earlier rollouts in Austin, Dallas and Houston.
US Beef - US beef exports to China have yet to recover following the renewal of import licences for US meat plants, but H2 prospects are improving as Australia exhausts its quota and Brazil approaches its allowance, leaving the US with its 164K-ton allocation largely intact, Bloomberg said. US beef prices have hit record highs on the smallest cattle herd in decades, while Chinese demand remains soft amid a slowing economy.

ENERGY:

OPEC+ - OPEC+ agreed to raise output quotas by 188K bpd from August, adding to three consecutive monthly increases, bringing total quota increases since the war began to 940K BPD. Group production fell to 33.13mln BPD in May (vs 42.77mln in February). Iraq is pressing for higher quotas following the UAE’s departure from the alliance in late April. Ahead of the meeting, Iraq pushed for considerably higher production quotas within OPEC+, threatening to exit the organisation if denied, following the UAE’s departure in May over similar frustrations with mandated output limits. OPEC+ is conducting an audit of each member’s physical production capacity to determine individual targets for 2027.
EU Energy - Six institutional investors, including Swedbank Robur Fonder, Sarasin & Partners and French pension fund Ircantec, joined an open letter urging the EU to maintain its opposition to Arctic oil and gas expansion. The EU is set to present its revised Arctic policy over the summer, amid pressure from Norway to remove the existing drilling ban.

INDUSTRIALS:

Honeywell (HON) - Honeywell spin-off Solstice Advanced Materials is said to be in talks to merge with Element Solutions, which could create a USD 27bln chemicals giant, FT reports. Discussions are ongoing, with a formal agreement not yet reached, but a deal could come together as soon as this week, the report says.
Canadian National Railway (CNI) - CN set a June record for grain movement, moving 2.67mln metric tonnes from Western Canada, above the previous June record of 2.64mln metric tonnes in June 2020. The company cited strong customer demand, supply-chain collaboration and network flexibility, despite heavy rainfall in parts of Western Canada.
EasyJet (ESYJY) - EasyJet agreed in principle to Castlelake’s fifth takeover bid, at GBP 6.90/shr in cash, valuing the airline at GBP 5.2bln (GBP 5.5bln on a fully diluted basis). Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) is part of the bidding group, alongside former EasyJet executive Peter Bellew.

MATERIALS:

Genesis Minerals (GSISF), Vault Minerals (REDLF) - Genesis Minerals launched an AUD 5.6bln cash and stock bid for Vault Minerals, trumping an earlier all-share deal Vault had agreed with Regis Resources Limited (RGRNF). The offer implies AUD 5.274 per Vault share, a 14.5% premium to the Regis deal, and would create a combined miner worth approximately AUD 13bln with around 700K ounces of annual production. Regis has five days to match the offer.
China Gold ETF - The Huaan Yifu Gold ETF has overtaken the Huatai-PineBridge CSI 300 ETF to become China’s largest ETF, with a market capitalisation of CNY 90bln against CNY 83bln, as state-backed support for equities fades. The CSI 300 ETF was previously a favourite of China’s so-called ‘national team’.
Critical Metals (CRML), European Lithium (EULIF) - Critical Metals and European Lithium amended the Scheme Implementation Deed for Critical Metals’ proposed acquisition of European Lithium. The changes adjust implementation mechanics while keeping commercial terms unchanged. European Lithium shareholders and listed option holders holding 50,000 or fewer shares or options may join a sale facility, receiving net cash proceeds instead of Critical Metals common shares.