[MARKET ANALYSIS] STOXX 600 is on track to lose 2% on the week; VOD LN boosted on stake sale, Apollo agrees on EZJ LN deal

European bourses (STOXX 600 -0.1%/Euro Stoxx 50 -0.3%) began the session on a weaker footing despite APAC optimism ahead of SK Hynix’s US debut (KOSPI +2.5% at close). Geopolitical newsflow quietened overnight, as such energy benchmarks are off best levels with Brent around USD 75/bbl. IBEX continues to outperform after it slumped earlier in the week (also has more defensive composition), while tech heavy AEX is the worst performer as top constituent ASML looks to SK’s ADR debut.
Sectors opened with a positive bias and continue this way. Comms and Travel/Leisure outperform, Tech and Energy are the laggards for the above factors. In terms of individual movers, Infineon (-2.7%) said it is raising prices in some segments; EasyJet (+14%) agreed to a GBP 5.7bln takeover by Apollo at 715p/shr; Vodafone (+11%) French telecom tycoon Niel acquired E&’s stake for a GBP 0.15/shr premium.
Stateside, index futures pull back a touch after solid gains on Thursday. NQ (-0.6%) is the laggard after outperformance on Thursday, ES and RTY are resilient and only post modest -0.2% losses.