[MARKET ANALYSIS] European bourses mixed, BMW GY cutting guidance weighs on auto sector; NQ outperforms following INTC update

European bourses (STOXX 600 +0.1%) start Wednesday's trade mixed, with outperformance in the AEX (+0.4%) while the DAX 40 (-0.4%) lags following BMW's guidance (see more below). Geopolitical newsflow has been light thus far as markets await for the official MoU signing on Friday. On a data front, UK headline inflation rose 2.8% in May, unchanged from April and also cooler than expected. Almost every sector helped offset the upward pressure from transport. The BoE's MPC will welcome this report, but it is unlikely to shift the dial in the immediate future. Chief UK economist at Capital Economics said, “This can give the Bank of England more confidence that it doesn’t need to raise interest rates tomorrow, or at all.”
Sectors also lack a clear bias. Technology (+1.0%) and Retail (+0.7%) top the sector pile. Autos (-2.5%) is the worst-performing sector this morning, primarily driven by updated guidance from BMW. The Co. cut its operating auto margin to 1-3% (prev. 4-6%) and said it would intensify cost-cutting, with a negative one-off in the H2'26. Analysts at Deutsche Bank and Jefferies both said the outlook cut was significantly larger than expected, which has resulted in the Co.'s shares slumping as much as 11%. This has dragged peers lower with it (Volkswagen -2.4%, Mercedes-Benz -3.3%)
Key movers include: Hays (+1.8%), exploring the sale of its business in another 7 countries after selling in 6 already; Straumann (+9.9%), raises its FY26 core EBIT margin expansion to 140-170bps (prev. guided 30-60bps); DiaSorin (-2.6%), downgraded to sell at Deutsche Bank citing a risk of a cut in guidance; Zealand Pharma (-3.8%), downgraded to hold at Berenberg and PT slashed to DKK 300 from DKK 825.
US equity futures are muted, except for the NQ (+0.8%). Intel (+4.6%) announced that its 18A manufacturing process has entered risk (i.e. early) production, with the chipmaker seeing strong demand for its central processors.