Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 10th August 2026

APAC stocks were somewhat mixed, but with most major indices in the green, following last Friday's gains on Wall Street, where weak jobs data unwound Fed rate hike bets, while oil prices gained in the absence of a formal Strait of Hormuz deal, and participants also digested soft Chinese inflation data. ASX 200 was lower amid declines in the top-weighted financial sector following earnings from Westpac, while participants also look ahead to tomorrow's RBA rate decision, with the central bank widely expected to keep rates on hold, but continue to echo a hawkish tone. Nikkei 225 rallied as participants digested the recent slew of earnings, with the top gainers in the index driven by their quarterly earnings results. KOSPI traded higher but with upside capped amid the somewhat choppy price action in tech heavyweights and as participants also reflect on earnings releases. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were in the green, albeit with gains in the mainland contained following softer-than-expected CPI and PPI data over the weekend. Nonetheless, the data is seen to keep prospects of a rate cut in H2 on the table, while the PBoC said on Sunday that it will continue to implement a moderately loose monetary policy in H2, strengthen counter-cyclical adjustment, and take solid steps to promote sustained and improved economic development.

Sony (6758 JT), TSMC (2330 TT) - Cos are reportedly in talks to spend a combined JPY 1tln on their planned joint factory in Japan to produce next-gen image sensors for robots and cars, Bloomberg reports. Production from the factory is expected to begin in 2029, the report added. (Bloomberg)

TSMC (2330 TT) - July Revenue (TWD) 467.8bln, +44.7% Y/Y; YTD Revenue 2.87tln, +37% Y/Y. (TSMC)

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.37% at 6,527, Dax 40 +0.82% at 26,355, FTSE 100 +0.31% at 10,901, CAC 40 +0.17% at 8,715, FTSE MIB +0.06% at 53,717, IBEX 35 +0.03% at 20,187, PSI -0.46% at 9,181, SMI +0.24% at 14,554, AEX -0.09% at 1,111

SECTORS: Healthcare 1.27%, IT 1.24%, Industrials 0.44%, Utilities 0.23%, Consumer Disc 0.21%, Telecoms 0.20%, Consumer Stpl 0.13%, Financials 0.07%, Materials 0.06%, Energy -0.71%

Diageo (DGE LN) - India's food safety regulator has warned the Co. that claims that one of its whiskies was "matured in American oak casks" was misleading, Reuters reports citing a confidential government notice. The regulator announced that it has banned sales of Diageo's Royal Challenge Whisky made in the state of Madhya Pradesh and some whisky and rum brands for using artificial flavouring. (Reuters)

Jobs - REC/KPMG monthly gauge of permanent job placements rose to 50.0 from 49.1. The survey says that the labour market showed tentative signs of stabilisation in July as recruiters stopped cutting permanent staff. (REC/KPMG)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Vistry (VTY LN) - Allianz Trade (ALV GY) is reportedly reducing the credit limits of Vistry suppliers by as much as 70%, the FT reports. The report added that the final cover level provided will depend on the financial performance of Vistry in the coming weeks. (FT)

BROKER MOVES

Coca-Cola HBC (CCH LN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

Legal & General (LGEN LN) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citi

Persimmon (PSN LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank

Shaftesbury (SHC LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

Shell (SHEL LN) upgraded to Add from Reduce at AlphaValue

Smiths Group (SMIN LN) initiated with Buy at Goldman Sachs

GEA Group (G1A GY) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 1.44bln (prev. 1.31bln), Order Intake 1.50bln (prev. 1.31bln Y/Y), EBITDA before restructuring expenses 251mln (prev. 217mln Y/Y). Raises its FY26 guidance, now sees organic revenue growth between 6-8% (prev. guided 5-7%), EBITDA margin before restructuring expenses between 17-17.4% (prev. guided 16.6-17.2%) and ROCE between 36-40% (prev. guided 34-38%). Approves a new share buyback programme of EUR 500mln. (GEA Group)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Hypoport (HYQ GY) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 150.1mln (prev. 145.8mln Y/Y), Gross Profit 66.5mln (prev. 64.4mln Y/Y), EBITDA 15.8mln (prev. 16.1mln Y/Y). Confirms FY26 guidance. (EQS)

Stabilus SE (STM GY) - CFO Jaeger has prematurely terminated his contract for personal reasons. (Stablius SE)

BROKER MOVES

Fresenius Medical Care (FME GY) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Casino (CO FP) - TLB lenders have initiated proceedings before the Paris Economic Court on August 6th, seeking the termination of the safeguard plan approved on February 26th 2024, on the basis in particular of the event of default related to the entry into discussions with its creditors. (Casino)

BROKER MOVES

Satellites, Eutelsat (ETL FP), SES (SESG FP) - The European Space Agency says the sovereign satellite constellation project will require an additional 66 satellites and will accelerate its service launch to 2029. More funds will be required, which will be allocated in the next 6-year budget and require additional investments from member states. (ESA)

BROKER MOVES

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

BROKER MOVES

UPM-Kymmene (UPM FH) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

CLOSES: SPX +0.62% at 7,758, NDX +1.19% at 29,722, DJI +0.28% at 54,042, RUT +1.10% at 3,034

SECTORS: Energy -1.16%, Communication Services -0.35%, Financials -0.32%, Consumer Staples +0.01%, Industrials +0.19%, Real Estate +0.44%, Utilities +0.48%, Health +0.78%, Technology +1.25%, Consumer Discretionary +1.34%, Materials +1.52%.

Apple (AAPL), CXMT (688825 CN) - Apple has reportedly been testing CXMT memory chips within its iPhones and MacBooks to mitigate a component shortage, WSJ reports. The report added that Apple has been in early talks with CXMT about the supply of components with an objective of using them in Chinese-sold devices. (WSJ)

Apple (AAPL) - Co. has published a guide explaining how Mac users in mainland China can connect Alibaba's Qwen AI service to Siri and Writing Tools feature. (Apple)

Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) - Q2 2026 (USD): Net Income 25.67bln (exp. 10.62bln), Operating Earnings 12.98bln (exp. 10.58bln). Says they repurchased USD 4.5bln of its own stock between April-June and over USD 3.3bln more in July. (Berkshire Hathaway)

Defence - The US Pentagon has reportedly asked defence companies to rapidly increase the production and delivery of weapons, including munitions that are in extreme shortage due to the Iran war, WaPo reports. (WaPo)

Paramount Skydance (PKSY) - Co. has reportedly agreed to sign contracts with AMC Entertainment and Regal Cinemas guaranteeing that it will release 30 movies/yr in cinemas if it is acquired by Warner Bros (WBD), Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

Nvidia (NVDA) - Co. has reportedly agreed to invest up to USD 3bln into Lancium, the Information reports. If all USD 3bln is invested, it would give Nvidia around a 30% stake in Lancium. (The Information)