[MARKET ANALYSIS] European bourses trade tentatively amidst geopolitical uncertainty; NVDA +1.8% pre-market after unveiling an AI PC chip

European bourses are broadly lower this morning, as markets digest another flare-up between the US and Iran, with Israel also seemingly upping its presence in southern Lebanon once again. From an index perspective, the AEX (-0.4%) mildly underperforms whilst the DAX 40 (+0.1%) holds afloat.
European sectors are mixed. Energy unsurprisingly tops the pile, given the gains in underlying oil prices; Tech and Basic Resources complete the top three. To the downside reside Media and then Healthcare; the former has been weighed by losses in UMG (-2%), after it rejected Pershing Square’s unsolicited offer.
In terms of key movers: easyJet (+10%, Castlelake mulls possible offer), Schneider Electric (+3%, resumed with Buy at Berenberg), Siemens Energy (+2.5%, EQT sets target fund size for EQT Infrastructure VII at EUR 21bln), Bayer (-2%, says Phase 2 Aracog trial met primary endpoint), Equinor (+2%, Chair resigns and recommends a replacement).
US equity futures are incrementally firmer/flat. The ES/NQ (+0.2%) post incremental gains, whilst the RTY (U/C) holds around the unchanged mark. Tentative action encapsulated by the uncertain geopolitical environment, but focus ahead will turn to key data incl. ISM Manufacturing and Final Manufacturing PMIs. The former takes more focus where the headline is expected at 53.0 (prev. 52.7). As for key movers: Nvidia (+1.8%) and Microsoft (+2.5%) unveiled RTX Spark, a 1-petaflop superchip for Windows PCs built for personal AI agents – a factor which has weighed on peers such as Qualcomm (-3%) and AMD (-1%). Elsewhere, IBM (+6.5%) gains after Barclays initiated the Co. with Overweight. Finally, software names are broadly gaining this morning, continuing the optimism seen last week.