Daily US Equity Opening News - GOOG faces triple-digit EU DMA fine; SSNLF injunction rejected in union bargaining case; INTC CEO heads to Taiwan before Computex; Huawei unveils LogicFolding chip design approach; DeepSeek cuts V4-Pro AI model prices

NOTE: Monday’s US Daily Equity News note, which recaps on weekend US equity news, can be accessed here

DAY AHEAD:

• EVENTS: The Israeli Security Cabinet will meet today at 19:00 local time (17:00 BST).
• DATA: US consumer confidence is seen easing to 92 (prev. 92.8), the FHFA House Price Index is expected to rise 0.1% M/M (prev. 0.0%), and S&P/Case-Shiller home prices are also due; the Chicago Fed National Activity Index is seen falling to -0.30 (prev. -0.20); Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index is expected to improve to -1 (prev. -2.3). Canada reports preliminary manufacturing sales.
• CENTRAL BANKS: ECB publishes Financial Stability Review Special Feature on stress in global private credit and implications for euro area financial stability. The NBH is expected to hold its benchmark rate at 6.25%, with a potential cut seen by analysts in June.
• SPEAKERS - Fed’s Kashkari (voter) speaks at a BoJ event after the US close. ECB's Sleijpen is due to delivery remarks today.
• OPTION EXPIRIES: Copper Jun 2026, Silver Jun 2026, Gold Jun 2026 and Brent Crude Jul 2026 options expire.
• SUPPLY: Italy auctions EUR 2.25–2.5bln of 2028 BTPs, and EUR 1.75–2.5bln of 2031 and 2046 BTPei; US sells USD 69bln of 2yr notes. UK will announce the size of its 2037 Green Gilt auction.

NEWS:

NOTE: Monday’s US Daily Equity News note, which recaps on weekend US equity news, can be accessed here

GEOPOLITICS:

• US-Iran - Gaps remain between Washington and Tehran over a potential agreement, which is still far from being finalised, according to Israel’s Channel 12; Iran’s Supreme Leader has not yet approved the deal. US and Israeli jets struck Iranian vessels and other targets south of Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, killing several Iranian personnel according to Iran’s state-run Nour News. The strikes came hours after President Trump had said negotiations over a ceasefire extension and reopening of the strait were proceeding well. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiations would continue for several more days. Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei warned on X that the US would no longer have a safe haven in the Middle East and that the region would not serve as a shield for American bases. Separately, Al Hadath reports that the Iranian army warned of a potential renewal of the war, though details were limited.
• Ukraine-Russia-US - Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov called US Secretary of State Rubio at President Putin’s request to advise the evacuation of US citizens and diplomats from Kyiv, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement. Lavrov said Russia intends to continue systematic strikes on facilities in the Ukrainian capital and against what it described as relevant decision-making centres.
• Alberta Referendum - Canadian PM Carney warned Alberta voters against supporting a separatist referendum, drawing on his experience leading the BoE during the Brexit vote to caution that such votes are often framed as risk-free leverage but carry unforeseen consequences. Alberta Premier Smith last week pledged to hold a referendum in October on whether the province should pursue a process towards independence, following a court ruling that blocked a separatist group’s petition on procedural grounds. Carney said his government is reviewing the proposed question for compliance with Canadian legislation, and intends to campaign against separation.

MACRO:

• Equity Risk Premium - The gap between the S&P 500’s earnings yield and the 10yr Treasury yield has nearly vanished, and sits near its lowest level since the early 2000s, as a bond selloff driven by Iran-war inflation fears has pushed the 10-year yield to 4.57%, up from 3.96% just before US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, WSJ reports. The narrowing of the gap reflects a disconnect between equity markets, where valuations remain stretched, and bond markets pricing in persistent inflation and a reduced likelihood of Fed rate cuts.
• Chinese Yuan - Macquarie Group economists said the yuan could strengthen to as little as five per dollar if Chinese firms unwind an estimated USD 800bln in dollar carry-trade positions. Such a move would require exports to falter and Beijing to ramp up stimulus, narrowing the US-China yield gap and shifting the yuan from a currency driven by dollar movements to one supported by domestic fundamentals, it said.
• BoJ - BoJ Deputy Governor Himino signalled openness to a near-term rate rise, telling parliament that maintaining market confidence required adjusting monetary easing at an appropriate pace. Markets are pricing around a 76% probability of a June hike (vs 80%+ last week) following a meeting between Governor Ueda and PM Takaichi, who has indicated a preference for steady policy amid the economic impact of the Iran war.

TECH:

• Huawei - Huawei announced a new chip design approach called “LogicFolding” at an IEEE conference in Shanghai, saying it will be used in its Kirin smartphone chips this autumn and could deliver capabilities equivalent to 1.4nm process technology by 2031. Analysts expressed scepticism, noting the stacked design does not resolve the full manufacturing, yield, and thermal challenges associated with true 1.4nm-class production, CNBC reports.
• Intel (INTC) - Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is travelling to Taiwan this weekend ahead of Computex 2026, joining Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang and AMD (AMD) CEO Lisa Su in a push to secure AI infrastructure partnerships with Taiwanese supply-chain partners, DigiTimes reports. Tan’s schedule includes meetings with TSMC (TSM) executives, private sessions with supply-chain partners, and a keynote on 2nd June.
• Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) - A South Korean court rejected an injunction filed by the Samsung Electronics Employee Rights Legal Response Alliance seeking to halt collective bargaining by a cross-enterprise union, Yonhap reports. The Suwon District Court had held its first hearing on the application, which was submitted on 15th May. Separately, DigiTimes reports that Samsung plans to allocate a significant portion of its Pyeongtaek P4 cleanroom capacity to high-bandwidth memory production in 2027, a move that could tighten general-purpose DRAM supply as demand from AI data centres accelerates; Samsung told investors on 21st May that global DRAM supply growth will fall short of demand this year, with the gap widening further in 2027, and expects HBM4 to exceed half of total HBM revenue from Q3 and anticipates double-digit HBM price growth next year.
• SoftBank (SFTBY) - SoftBank Group is raising JPY 260bln through 35yr subordinated retail bonds carrying an issuer call option after five years, with pricing due 5th June, with guidance between 4.8-5.6%, Bloomberg reports. The offering follows a similar retail bond sale two months prior and comes as funding pressure mounts; the company recently downsized a planned USD 10bln margin loan backed by its OpenAI stake by 40% to USD 6bln.
• DeepSeek - DeepSeek will permanently cut prices on its flagship V4-Pro AI model by 75%, reducing API costs to between CNY 0.025 and CNY 6 per million tokens (from CNY 0.1 to CNY 24 previously), Reuters reports. The Chinese startup did not confirm whether the reduction reflects greater availability of Huawei Ascend 950 chips, though it had previously indicated pricing would fall sharply once the chips were launched in large quantities in H2.

COMMUNICATIONS:

• Alphabet (GOOG) - The EU is planning to fine Alphabet’s Google a high triple-digit million Euro sum under its Digital Markets Act, with the decision expected before the summer break, Handelsblatt reports citing European Commission sources. The penalty would be the largest imposed under the DMA, and relates to an investigation launched in March 2025 into whether Google favours its own services in search results. The EU Commission said it remains more focused on securing compliance than imposing fines.
• Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) - The South Korean studio behind the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack raised KRW 120bln in a Series B round led by Krafton and Tencent Music Entertainment Group, valuing the company at KRW 1tln, Bloomberg reports.

CONSUMER:

• Walmart (WMT), Amazon (AMZN) - India’s quick-commerce market is forecast to reach USD 50bln by 2030, up from USD 8bln last year, according to Deloitte and Google, as Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart compete with domestic startups including Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy’s Instamart, WSJ reports.
• Target (TGT) - Target is reassessing its AI deployment strategy as providers including Anthropic and OpenAI shift from subscription to token-based pricing, its India President Andrea Zimmerman told Reuters. The move towards usage-based models is raising costs for enterprises and prompting senior-level discussions at the retailer. Zimmerman said the focus had shifted towards intentional integration of AI tools rather than broad deployment.
• Starbucks (SBUX) - Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin publicly apologised for Starbucks Korea’s “Tank Day” promotional campaign, which coincided with the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju uprising in which South Korean military forces killed hundreds of protesters. The backlash triggered a boycott backed by the ruling Democratic Party, the firing of the local CEO, and a police investigation. Shinsegae’s CFO acknowledged a “very substantial decline in revenue” and said five employees who organised the event had been removed from their positions.
• China EVs - China’s EV exports rose +40% Y/Y to 278,081 units in April, according to China Customs data. Asia was the largest importing region at 110,613 units (+20% Y/Y), followed by Europe at 83,813 (+36% Y/Y) and Latin America and the Caribbean at 52,897 (+80% Y/Y). Brazil was the single largest destination, with imports surging 221% Y/Y to 38,144 units.
• Ferrari (RACE) - Ferrari unveiled the Luce, its first five-seat, four-door fully electric vehicle, at the Vela di Calatrava in Rome. The company described the model as the culmination of its multi-energy strategy announced at its 2022 Capital Markets Day, adding that electrification represents one element of a broader approach to product development rather than a replacement for existing engines.

FINANCIALS:

• Morgan Stanley (MS) - Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities hired Naoyuki Kumon, formerly Societe Generale’s (GLNCY) head of sales to Japan’s regional financial institutions, Bloomberg reports. Kumon departed SocGen earlier this year.
• European Banks - European banks have sharply increased their use of significant risk transfer trades, with around 11.1% of corporate loans (worth around USD 509bln) tied to SRT deals at the end of last year, nearly double the 6.2% ratio recorded in 2022, according to Bloomberg. The instruments, which transfer default risk to hedge funds and other investors in exchange for coupons that can exceed 10%, have drawn growing regulatory scrutiny from the ECB, the BoE and the FSB board over rollover risk, and the potential for circular risk between banks and SRT investors.

ENERGY:

• Pembina Pipeline (PBA), Dow (DOW) - Pembina Pipeline is proceeding with the Heartland Extraction Plant, saying the project monetises liquids extraction rights on the Yellowhead Pipeline with future growth potential. Pembina Pipeline and Dow also amended their ethane supply agreement, linked to Heartland Extraction Plant commitments; Pembina will supply Dow with 35K BPD of ethane from its existing portfolio from the start-up of Dow’s Path2Zero project, expected in 2029, and total supply will rise to 57.5K BPD (up 15% vs the original 50K BPD agreement).
• Eni (E) - Eni, Petroci and Vitol approved the final investment decision for Baleine Phase 3 in Cote d’Ivoire. The full-field development of the country’s largest hydrocarbon discovery will raise oil production from 60K to 150K BPD, and gas output from 80mln to 200mln cubic feet/day.
• Australia LNG - The Offshore Alliance union called off planned strikes at Inpex Corp.’s Ichthys LNG project in Australia, citing progress in bargaining, Bloomberg reports. The facility accounts for around 2% of global LNG output with annual export capacity of 9.3mln tonnes, primarily to Japan.

MATERIALS:

• BHP Group (BHP) - BHP Group is pulling back on decarbonisation projects in Western Australian iron ore operations, according to leaked internal documents cited by the Guardian. It shelved a Jimblebar solar and battery project, deferred a 500MW renewables system and abandoned a lower-emissions processing facility that could prevent 1.7mln tons of emissions yearly.
• Codelco - Codelco’s Sindicato Chuquicamata union, representing around 1,300 workers, threatened protests if the Chilean state miner attempts to recover USD 14mln in bonus payments made to over 6,000 workers and executives after output was overstated by roughly 2% last year, Bloomberg reports. A 2% production revision would leave Codelco’s output at its lowest since 1997.

HEALTHCARE:

• Eli Lilly (LLY) - Eli Lilly’s investigational in vivo base editing medicine, Verve-102, produced meaningful PCSK9 and LDL-C reductions in the Phase 1b Heart-2 study. In 35 participants, one infusion produced dose-dependent mean PCSK9 reductions of 51%-88%, with corresponding mean LDL-C reductions of 9%-62%, sustained for up to 18 months.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) - AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) has been recommended for approval in the European Union (EU) as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive (immunohistochemistry [IHC] 3+) solid tumours who have received prior treatment and who have no satisfactory treatment options.
• Fresenius Medical Care (FME) - Company announces it will conduct a EUR 1bln share buyback programme.
• Novartis (NVS) - New Novartis data at ERA 2026 advance scientific understanding of kidney disease and reinforce portfolio strength. Late-breaking Phase III IgAN data for Vanrafia ALIGN and Fabhalta APPLAUSE-IgAN studies to be presented.