Daily US Equity Opening News - NVDA & MSFT unveil Windows AI superchip; China signals tighter online platform oversight; YUM in exclusive talks to sell Pizza Hut; BRK to buy TMHC for USD 8.5bln; PSKY prepares USD 50bln debt sale for WBD bid

DAY AHEAD:

EVENTS: President Trump participates in a Policy Meeting at 11:00EDT/16:00BST; the President will also be signing executive orders today. COMPUTEX 2026 is set to take place between 2-5th June, with presentations already beginning ahead of the events.
DATA: In Europe, final PMI data for May are due; France exp. at 48.9 (prev. 52.8), Germany at 49.9 (prev. 51.4), Eurozone expected at 51.4 (prev. 52.2); UK Manufacturing PMI final is seen at 53.7 (prev. 53.7). Eurozone April unemployment data are also released today (prev. 6.2%). ECB Consumer Expectations Survey for April will be released. In North America, US ISM Manufacturing PMI headline is expected at 53.0 (prev. 52.7), with new orders little changed at 54.3 (prev. 54.1), though prices are expected to rise to 86.0 (prev. 84.6), while employment is seen little changed at 46.6 (prev. 46.4). The final US S&P Global Manufacturing PMI are due before then (exp. 55.3, prev. 54.5); US also releases construction spending figures for April (exp. 0.4% M/M, prev. 0.6%). Atlanta Fed will update its Q2 GDPNow tracking estimate (prev. 3.8%).
SPEAKERS: ECB’s Schnabel (hawk) speaks (text expected).
EARNINGS: Notable corporates reporting today include: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).
WEEK AHEAD: This week’s notable highlights include US ISMs, NFP, EZ HICP & Canadian Jobs. Earnings quieten down with highlights including: Broadcom (AVGO), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Medtronic (MDT), Ciena (CIEN), Veeva (VEEV), Dollar General (DG), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), Lululemon (LULU), Brown-Forman (BF), Macy’s (M), PVH (PVH), Cooper Companies (COO), DocuSign (DOCU), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Signet (SIG).
Click here for Newsquawk’s week ahead preview.
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PRIMER - US ISM MANUFACTURING PMI (MON): ISM Manufacturing PMI headline is expected at 53.0 (prev. 52.7), with new orders little changed at 54.3 (prev. 54.1), though prices are expected to rise to 86.0 (prev. 84.6), while employment is seen little changed at 46.6 (prev. 46.4). As a proxy, S&P Globalʼs flash manufacturing PMI rose to 55.3 in May (from 54.5), a 48-month high, with the output index also firming to 56.2, its strongest reading in 49 months. Under the bonnet, however, the picture was somewhat nuanced. The marked influx of new orders was again driven predominantly by precautionary stock-building by clients rather than end-demand, and order book growth was purely domestically driven, with goods exports falling again, S&P said. Supply chains deteriorated sharply, with supplier delivery times lengthening to the greatest degree since August 2022 as war-related shipping disruptions compounded existing tariff-related constraints; input purchases rose at the steepest rate since April 2022, driving inventories higher. Input cost inflation registered its largest monthly increase since June 2022, with selling prices rising at the fastest pace since September 2022. On the labour front, manufacturing payrolls posted their largest increase in 11 months as factories hired to meet the order upturn. Looking ahead, manufacturer sentiment improved to its most optimistic since February 2025, buoyed by the recent order strength and anticipation of tariff-related re-shoring, though the reliance on precautionary stocking as a demand driver remains a key caveat.

NEWS:

GEOPOLITICS:

US-Iran - US President Trump requested further edits to a proposed US-Iran deal to extend the ceasefire and end months of fighting, CBS reports. The changes relate to the Strait of Hormuz and removal of highly enriched uranium. The draft includes a 60-day halt to violence, potential sanctions relief and renewed nuclear talks, but no formal agreement has yet been reached. The two sides exchanged messages over the weekend seeking amendments, though Tasnim reported both sides might ultimately reject the changes.
US-Iran - US CENTCOM confirmed strikes against Iranian radar and command and control sites in Goruk and Qeshm Island; Iran’s IRGC said its aerospace forces subsequently targeted the airbase from which it said the attack on a communications tower on Sirik Island, in Hormozgan province, originated, claiming the targets were destroyed.
UK Politics - Andy Burnham has left open calling an early UK general election if he replaces Keir Starmer as PM. Burnham is expected to challenge Starmer if he wins the 18th June Makerfield by-election. He also said he is committed to introducing proportional representation after the next election. Starmer also faces the compelled release of hundreds of private exchanges between former US ambassador Peter Mandelson and government ministers, advisers, and senior officials, following Mandelson’s sacking after an investigation revealed his ties to Jeffrey Epstein were closer than previously known; the disclosures are expected to shed further light on Mandelson’s vetting process, during which security officials raised concerns before his appointment proceeded, amid calls from more than 90 Labour MPs for Starmer to resign. Elsewhere, Wes Streeting backed new North Sea oil and gas drilling and suggested targeted cuts to employers’ national insurance to encourage hiring young people, the Sunday Times reported; he said the UK’s future lies “one day back in the European Union” and supported equalising capital gains and income tax rates, while also calling for more renewable energy.
EU-Russia - EU Union is considering a temporary freeze on its USD 44.10/bbl price cap on Russian oil, as part of its 21st sanctions package since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Bloomberg citing sources. Without a freeze, the cap’s automatic review in July would likely raise the threshold to at least USD 65/bbl due to elevated oil prices from the Iran war. Bloomberg said that the options include suspending automatic increases until year-end, or capping any rise at USD 60/bbl, in line with the G7 level.
EU-Hungary - Hungarian President Sulyok rejected PM Magyar’s demand to resign, citing constitutional obligations requiring him to remain in office. Magyar had set a midnight Sunday deadline for Sulyok’s departure, warning the constitution would be amended swiftly if he refused. Sulyok’s term runs until 2029.

TRADE:

US AI Chips - The US Commerce Department moved to close a loophole allowing advanced AI chips, including Nvidia (NVDA) Blackwell processors, to reach overseas subsidiaries of Chinese companies, Reuters reports. The Bureau of Industry and Security, part of the Commerce Department, said it would enforce licence requirements for China-headquartered entities outside China. The guidance does not require data centres to stop using or servicing affected chips.
China Outbound Investment - China tightened outbound investment rules through a State Council directive effective 1st July. The regulation strengthens national-security reviews, bars overseas transfer of restricted goods, technology, services and data, and bans technical training to export them. Offenders may be ordered to halt transactions, dispose of assets and pay fines of up to 1% of investment value.

MACRO:

Fedspeak - Former Fed Chair Powell warned that the Fed would lose credibility if any President could dismiss its officials over policy disagreements. Powell, who remains on the Fed’s Board of Governors until January 2028, made his first public remarks since being succeeded by Chair Kevin Warsh, as the Supreme Court deliberates the fate of Fed Governor Lisa Cook, whom President Trump has sought to fire.
China PMI - The RatingDog manufacturing PMI fell to 51.8 in May (exp. 51.3, prev. 52.2), remaining above the expansionary threshold. Official figures showed factory activity slipping to 50 (from 50.3). The report said the economy is showing signs of softening after a strong Q1, with April industrial production and retail sales also posting their weakest gains in years, though AI-related exports remain a bright spot.
S&P on France - Finance Minister Lescure said S&P Global Ratings confirmed France’s A+ credit rating with a stable outlook, following the downgrade from AA- in October 2025. Lescure reiterated a target to reduce the deficit to 5% of output this year and below 3% by 2029.
ECB-speak - ECB’s Schnabel said that the ECB can no longer look through the inflationary impact of the Iran war. She said damage to energy infrastructure and supply chains has made price pressures more lasting, global pipeline pressures are rising, and the risk of unanchored inflation expectations is increasing. ECB’s Pereira said the central bank should act sooner rather than later to avoid greater second-order inflation effects; he is more concerned about inflation than a significant slowdown.
BoE-speak - BoE’s Mann said the “good luck” of the Great Moderation has run out as economies enter a more shock-prone inflation era. Mann said markets are a greater discipliner of economies and central banks.
Japan Corporate Capex - Japan’s biggest companies cut capital expenditure excluding software by 3.5% Q/Q in Q1 (exp. 4%). Ordinary profits at manufacturers reached a record, with current profits rising 14.6% Y/Y, and sales up 1.1% Y/Y. The mixed data may complicate the BoJ’s rate deliberations ahead of its 16th June decision, Bloomberg reports; money markets are currently pricing around 78% probability of a hike.

TECH:

Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT) - Nvidia and Microsoft unveiled RTX Spark, a 1-petaflop superchip for Windows PCs built for personal AI agents. RTX Spark offers up to 128GB unified memory, local 120B-parameter LLM support, 12K video editing and AAA gaming at 1440p above 100fps. ASUS (ASUUY), Dell (DELL), HP (HPQ), Lenovo (LNVGY), Microsoft Surface and MSI devices are due this Autumn, Nvidia said. Elsewhere, Nvidia CEO said Vera Rubin is now in full production.
SoftBank (SFTBY) - SoftBank pledged to invest up to EUR 75bln in AI computing clusters in France, the FT reports. The initial commitment is EUR 45bln for 3.1GW of capacity in Hauts-de-France by 2031, with another 2GW planned. The Dunkirk site will involve Schneider Electric (SBGSY); customers and computing-equipment providers remain undetermined, the report said.
LG Electronics (LGEIY) - Bloomberg notes that LG Electronics shares have more than quadrupled this year, and rose by the 30% daily limit for a second session on reports LG Group chair Koo Kwang-mo will meet Nvidia’s (NVDA) Jensen Huang on 5th June; the meeting is expected to focus on physical AI cooperation, the report suggests.
SK Hynix (HXSCL), Janus Henderson (JHG) - Janus Henderson’s Global Technology Leaders Fund plans to buy SK Hynix shares, betting memory-chip shortages will worsen next year, Bloomberg reports. Co-manager Richard Clode said SK Hynix’s high-bandwidth memory dominance may drive outsized earnings growth as supply contracts are repriced. The fund already owns Micron Technology (MU) and SanDisk (SNDK).
SK Hynix (HXSCL) - SK Hynix is upgrading its HBM4E logic chip to TSMC’s 3nm process and may accelerate sample shipments, after Samsung (SSNLF) became the first to send HBM4E samples to major customers, according to supply-chain sources cited by Digitimes.
TSMC (TSM) - US export controls have effectively capped China’s chip manufacturing at older process nodes, while TSMC advances its lead through 3D chip stacking technology (SoIC), according to a Digitimes analyst. Huawei’s chip arm HiSilicon acknowledged the constraint in a 25th May presentation, with Lin noting the company can only pursue 3D stacking without process shrinkage, creating thermal and power challenges. Nvidia, AMD and Google are planning to adopt TSMC’s SoIC at scale from 2028, deepening customer lock-in.
TSMC (TSM) - TSM’s ADR premium over its Taipei-listed shares narrowed to an average 13.7% in May, down from 26% in December, and marking the fifth consecutive monthly decline, according to Bloomberg. Taiwan-listed shares have surged more than 50% this year, outpacing ADR gains of under 40%, driven by regulatory changes permitting local funds to increase domestic exposure and a retail push into AI-related stocks.
Dell Technologies (DELL) - Dell unveiled its XPS 13 laptop starting at USD 699, or USD 599 for students aged 16 and older during back-to-school season, Reuters reports. Dell said the model targets students and young professionals, is thinner and lighter than Apple’s (AAPL) MacBook Neo, and will use Intel (INTC) Core Series 3 processors.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) - Health Secretary James Murray signalled Palantir will be allowed to bid for contracts to build the NHS Single Patient Record, The Times reports. Murray said the project differs from the federated data platform because it will use contracts with many providers to reduce delivery risk. The Unison union has called for Palantir to be banned.
China Online Platforms - China’s Communist Party journal signalled a policy approach for online platforms balancing growth support with tighter regulatory oversight, reiterating a stance against “involution-style” competition including price wars and aggressive subsidies, while strengthening oversight of algorithms, data use and consumer protection. The commentary also encourages platform companies to increase investment in AI and cloud computing.
Hardware vs Software - Venture capital investment in global robotics and physical AI grew to USD 26bln in 2025 from USD 4.2bln in 2019, with companies in those sectors raising more than USD 23bln in the first five months of 2026, according to PitchBook data cited by the WSJ. The report says investors are pivoting away from software and SaaS toward AI infrastructure, chips and autonomous machines, as AI tools from companies including Anthropic and OpenAI have eroded the appeal of traditional software startups, and weighed on shares of publicly traded software firms.

COMMUNICATIONS:

Meta (META), Alphabet (GOOG), Snap (SNAP), TikTok - Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube agreed to pay about USD 27mln to settle a Breathitt County School District lawsuit alleging addictive products contributed to a teen mental-health crisis, Bloomberg reports. Meta will pay USD 9mln, Snap and TikTok USD 8mln each, and YouTube slightly over USD 2mln. There are more than 1,300 similar school lawsuits pending.
Meta (META) - Meta is reportedly planning a wearable AI pendant, expanded smart glasses and an enterprise service, according to The Information. The pendant uses technology from Limitless, acquired in late 2025. The move comes as OpenAI and Google (GOOG) pursue wearable AI, with Google planning Android XR smart glasses through Warby Parker and Gentle Monster partnerships.
Paramount Skydance (PSKY), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) - Paramount Skydance and banks are preparing a USD 50bln debt sale for its USD 110bln Warner Bros. Discovery takeover bid, Bloomberg reports. Financing is tentatively structured as about USD 30bln high-grade bonds, USD 12bln high-yield notes, USD 7.5bln loans; David Ellison family has pledged support to contain leverage.

CONSUMER:

Luxury Stocks - Bloomberg writes that Chinese consumers are showing renewed appetite for luxury goods, with Louis Vuitton (LVMUY) and Burberry (BURBY) reporting brick-and-mortar sales returning to growth in Q1, while high-end beauty sales on Alibaba’s (BABA) Tmall and Taobao platforms rose 39% in the first four months of the year, according to Hangzhou Zhiyi Tech data. The rebound is partly attributed to a stock market rally, with the ChiNext Index up approximately 26% this year, boosting wealth and sentiment among affluent households.
European EVs - 18 of 27 EU member states fail to provide sufficient tax incentives to make electric vehicles financially competitive with fossil-fuel cars in corporate fleets, according to a study by clean transport lobby group T&E. Company cars account for roughly 60% of new registrations across the bloc. France and Belgium have enacted effective incentives, while Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland lag behind, according to Bloomberg.
General Motors (GM) - Nearly 1,000 workers at American Axle’s Three Rivers, Michigan plant began striking from 12:01 a.m. Monday after failing to agree a new labour contract, WSJ reports. The plant produces axles for General Motors’ heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups as well as midsize trucks, with GM estimated to hold roughly two weeks of axle stock.
Yum! Brands (YUM) - Yum! Brands is in exclusive talks to sell Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital, Bloomberg reports citing sources. LongRange entered exclusivity after beating bidders including Sycamore Partners. A deal could come together in several weeks, though no agreement is guaranteed. The article also notes that Pizza Hut’s share of Yum revenue fell to about 12% in 2025.

FINANCIALS:

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), Taylor Morrison (TMHC) - Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy Taylor Morrison for USD 8.5bln, including debt, in Greg Abel’s first major acquisition as chief executive. Berkshire will pay USD 72.50/shr, valuing equity at USD 6.8bln, a 24% premium (vs TMHC’s Friday closing price of USD 58.50/shr).
HSBC Holdings (HSBC) - HSBC is intensifying efforts to rebuild its Hong Kong investment banking franchise, with CEO Elhedery personally pitching clients and the bank hiring more than a dozen bankers from rivals including JPMorgan (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) over the past year, Bloomberg reports. HSBC currently holds around 70 IPO mandates across Asia, including approximately 40 in Hong Kong, up from five in all of 2025, though it ranks 12th among Hong Kong share sale arrangers this year versus fifth in Asia ex-Japan a decade ago, the article adds.

ENERGY:

El Nino* - The odds of El Nino forming by end of July have risen to 82%, according to the US Climate Prediction Centre, with a 67% chance it develops into a strong or very strong event heading into 2027. Such an occurrence would risk floods, droughts, and disruption to crop yields, energy demand, and shipping routes, compounding pressures on a global economy already contending with an energy crunch and inflationary pressures from the Middle East conflict, Bloomberg reports. The article adds that scientists are expecting 2027 to be one of the hottest years on record.
Alberta Wildfires - Wildfires broke out in Alberta’s Lac la Biche oil sands region, with six out-of-control fires within 20km of about 500K BPD of crude production, Bloomberg reports. Sites near fires include Cenovus Energy’s (CVE) Christina Lake, Canadian Natural Resources’ (CNQ) Jackfish and Kirby North, and ConocoPhillips’ (COP) Surmont.
Oil Prices - Goldman Sachs sees two-sided risks to oil prices; April demand data from China and Western Europe imply roughly 2mln BPD of downside risk, adding USD 10/bbl of downside to a Q4 Brent forecast of USD 90, its analysts said, while supply disruptions from the Iran war present significant upside risks.
Petrobras (PBR) - Petrobras will cut its average diesel selling price to distributors by BRL 0.3515/litre from 1st June, lowering it 9.6% to BRL 3.30/litre, Bloomberg reports. The reduction is linked to a federal subsidy programme offsetting reinstated PIS and Cofins fuel taxes.

MATERIALS:

DRC Strategic Minerals - Democratic Republic of Congo approved adding lithium, tantalum, niobium, tungsten, uranium and rare earths to its strategic minerals list. Strategic minerals face 10% royalties (vs 3.5% for non-ferrous metals).

INDUSTRIALS:

Diana Shipping (DSX), Genco Shipping (GNK) - Diana Shipping sent Genco Shipping shareholders a letter urging election of its six independent director nominees at Genco’s 18th June annual meeting. Diana criticised Genco’s board, said Genco spent over USD 13mln defending directors, and said it raised its offer to USD 24.80/shr.
US Airlines - Airline, hotel and tourism groups urged the Trump administration not to curb immigration and customs processing at major airports in sanctuary cities, CNBC reports. Airlines for America warned reduced Customs and Border Protection service at Newark would create havoc for US citizens, disrupt connecting traffic and cargo, and could affect World Cup travel.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) - CPKC implemented contingency plans to maintain Canadian rail operations after the IBEW Canadian Signals and Communications System Council No. 11 rejected its latest contract offers and began a strike on 31st May.
Boeing (BA) - Boeing was awarded a USD 528mln Defense Logistics Agency contract modification for a performance-based support contract. It was also awarded a USD 200mln Air Force quantity contract for aerospace vehicle technologies research.
General Dynamics (GD) - General Dynamics was awarded a USD 106mln Air Force task order for baseline sustainment and obsolescence support.

HEALTHCARE:

Pfizer (PFE) - Pfizer said Phase 3 Talapro-3 results showed Talzenna plus Xtandi reduced the risk of radiographic progression or death by 52% versus placebo plus Xtandi in men with HRR gene-mutated metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer. Pfizer also said Cohort 3 of the Phase 3 Breakwater trial showed Bratovi with cetuximab and Folfiri nearly doubled median progression-free survival versus Folfiri with or without bevacizumab in previously untreated BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer.
Eli Lilly (LLY) - Phase 3 Libretto-432 trial of Retevmo as adjuvant therapy met its primary endpoint in early-stage RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer. Retevmo reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death by 83% versus placebo in the primary analysis population.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Johnson & Johnson said Phase 3 Proteus met both primary endpoints, with apalutamide plus hormone therapy improving surgical cancer clearance, reducing metastasis or death risk by 20% and extending time to later therapy beyond six years. Separately, Phase 1b/2 OrigAMI-4 showed subcutaneous amivantamab produced a 42% confirmed response rate in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Bayer (BAYRY) - Bayer said the Phase II Aracog trial met its primary endpoint, with Nubeqa showing significantly less decline in objective cognitive performance over 24 weeks than enzalutamide in advanced prostate cancer.
Novartis (NVS) - Novartis said PSMAddition subgroup data showed Pluvicto plus standard of care consistently improved radiographic progression-free survival versus standard care alone in PSMA-positive metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. Results were consistent across disease volume and presentation subgroups, supporting earlier use at PSMA-positive metastatic prostate cancer diagnosis.
BioNTech (BNTX), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) - BioNTech and Bristol Myers Squibb reported interim Phase 2 ROSETTA Lung-02 data for pumitamig plus chemotherapy in previously untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer. The combination showed activity across PD-L1 expression levels and subtypes, with confirmed response rates of 63.6% in non-squamous and 72.7% in squamous subtypes at the lower dose.
Incyte (INCY) - Incyte said Phase 3 frontMIND results showed tafasitamab and lenalidomide added to R-CHOP significantly improved progression-free survival versus R-CHOP alone in first-line diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or high-grade B-cell lymphoma.
Veracyte (VCYT) - Veracyte said Enzamet trial results presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting showed the Decipher Prostate test can identify which men with metastatic prostate cancer benefit from adding docetaxel to standard hormonal therapy.
Grail (GRAL) - Grail said NHS-Galleri trial data presented at ASCO 2026 showed no reduction in the combined primary endpoint of aggregate stage III/IV cancers.
Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) - Summit Therapeutics presented new Phase II AK112-206 trial results for ivonescimab in first-line metastatic colorectal cancer at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting. In treatment-naive patients, ivonescimab plus standard mFOLFOX6 chemotherapy showed a 70.8% objective response rate across both arms in evaluable patients, which Summit described as encouraging versus historical bevacizumab-FOLFOX data.
Exelixis (EXEL) - Exelixis said a Phase 3 Cabinet subgroup analysis showed Cabometyx improved progression-free survival versus placebo in previously treated advanced neuroendocrine tumours regardless of functional status.