[MARKET ANALYSIS] European bourses set for a third consecutive weekly gain, SW FP plummets following weak guidance; US equity futures muted ahead of US CPI

European bourses (STOXX 600 +0.3%) are gaining heading into the US-Iran talks at the weekend. If indices can hold onto their gains, it would be the first Friday since the Iran war began that stocks would end in the green. The SMI is the outperformer, with all but one stock in the green, while the IBEX 35 underperforms.
Sectors are broadly in the green. Media, Health Care and Technology tops the sector pile while Basic Resources and Travel and Leisure lags. The tech sector has been given a boost after TSMC reported YTD sales that beat estimates, supporting the likes of ASML and STMicroelectronics. On the other hand, Travel and Leisure is under pressure following earnings by Sodexo, in which the Co. cut its 2026 organic revenue growth forecast, citing ongoing execution challenges.
Other key movers include Unite, Porsche and Holcim. Unite delivered a trading update, in which the Co. reaffirmed its 2026/27 outlook, in which they see occupancy and rental growth at the lower end of 93-96% and 2-3% ranges. For Porsche, the Co. delivered 61K Q1 deliveries, -15% Y/Y. Breaking it into regions, the US remained its largest sales region while China sales fell -21% Y/Y, primarily due to the persistently challenging market environment in China and the focus on value‑oriented sales. Finally, Holcim was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs, with analysts seeing better prospects following the EU's EUR 30bln in 'investment booster' funding.
US equity futures are posting modest losses ahead of the US CPI later, in which headline inflation is expected at 3.3% Y/Y, rising from 2.4% while core inflation also expected to rise to 2.7% Y/Y from 2.5%.