[MARKET ANALYSIS] European equities mixed despite many single-stock drivers; US equity futures unable to gain following Nvidia earnings

• European bourses (STOXX 600 U/C) are mixed, with France's CAC 40 (+0.4%) leading its peers while the IBEX 35 (-0.3%) lags as Fluidra (-5.1%) and banks (Bankinter -1.9%, Santander -1.3%) weigh on the index.
• Sectors do not offer any additional bias. Financial Services (+1.2%) and Retail (+0.7%) top the sector list, while Basic Resources (-2.0%) suffer as silver prices fall. LSEG (+6.4%) supports the Financial sector, as the Co. unveiled a new GBP 3bln share buyback programme. For Retailing, Howden Joinery (+6.8%) released a positive FY report, with pretax profit rising annually. However, the boost in the Co.'s shares comes from the announcement of a GBP 100mln share buyback.
• In a heavy day of earnings, Engie (+7.2%), Schneider Electric (+3.6%), Rolls-Royce (+5.3%) and Eni (+1.3%) stand out. Starting with Engie, within their earnings release, the Co. announced that they will acquire UK Power Networks with the purchase expected to have an immediate positive impact on its results. Next, for Schneider Electric, the Co. beat FY organic revenue estimates and affirmed its FY26-30 targets. Over in Italy, Eni reported Q4 profit that beat market estimates by a large margin (EUR 1.2bln vs exp. 0.99bln). Finally, in the UK, Rolls-Royce said it plans to buy back as much as GBP 9bln in shares over the next two years. The Co. also beat 2026 underlying operating profit guidance estimates and raised its 2028 guidance for the same metric to between GBP 4.9-5.2bln.
• US equity futures (NQ -0.1% ES/RTY U/C) are flat/incrementally weaker, despite a positive Q4 earnings report by tech behemoth Nvidia. The Co. beat EPS and revenue expectations and issued stronger-than-expected guidance. Shares initially rose but pared back, with concerns over customer concentration and competition, while its outlook excluded China data centre revenue. Following the earnings, Goldman Sachs analysts released a note, stating that they see a clearer path to stock outperformance and reiterated its Buy rating on the stock. However, HSBC did cut its price target to USD 295/shr from USD 310.

European equities are showing mixed performance today, with particular strength in sectors like Financial Services and Retail driven by positive earnings reports and share buybacks from companies such as LSEG and Howden Joinery. In the U.S., despite Nvidia beating earnings expectations, equity futures are flat as market concerns about competition and customer concentration weigh on sentiment, suggesting a cautious tone ahead.