Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 12th October 2026

APAC stocks were mixed after geopolitical headlines dominated weekend newsflow and amid thinned conditions to start the week due to Sports Day in Japan and the quasi-holiday stateside for Columbus Day. ASX 200 was led higher by gains in key local industries with outperformance in mining, materials, financials, resources and tech, while telecoms, real estate, energy and the consumer sectors lagged. KOSPI suffered amid pressure in the tech heavyweights, while sentiment was also not helped by North Korea's latest missile launch, which prompted South Korea to convene an emergency meeting. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed after the PBoC's improved liquidity efforts, while China also released draft rules establishing nationwide requirements for automotive parts remanufacturing and recently agreed to halve hybrid car exports to the EU in a landmark deal.

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.81% at 6,176, Dax 40 +1.19% at 25,102, FTSE 100 +1.06% at 10,552, CAC 40 +0.95% at 7,803, FTSE MIB +0.91% at 49,746, IBEX 35 +0.55% at 19,033, PSI -0.86% at 9,268, SMI +1.10% at 13,787, AEX +0.87% at 1,131

SECTORS: Materials 1.93%, Industrials 1.70%, Healthcare 1.67%, Consumer Disc 1.38%, Financials 0.95%, Consumer Stpl 0.76%, Energy 0.52%, Utilities 0.51%, IT -0.23%, Telecoms -3.17%

Antofagasta (ANTO LN) - Workers at the Centinela copper mine escalate their three-day strike, with three union members starting a hunger strike. (Newswires)

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) - Co. announces results from the HICKORY Phase 3 trial showed efzimfotase alfa did not achieve statistical significance but demonstrated a numerical improvement in the primary endpoint of Six-Minute Walk Test in adolescents and adults with hypophosphatasia. (AstraZeneca)

UK Budget - UK Chancellor Healey reportedly plans to unveil more support for energy costs through the existing warm homes discount, Bloomberg reports. The report adds that the extra spending will leave the fiscal target largely unaffected. (Bloomberg)

UK Credit Rating - S&P affirms UK at 'AA'; outlook stable. (S&P)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Cranswick (CWK LN) upgraded to Buy from Add at Peel Hunt

Pennon (PNN LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

Standard Life (SDLF LN) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Co. says they recorded 2,810 MW of orders in the Projects segment, excluding Service business (prev. 2.170 MW Y/Y). CEO says they "expect the international share to keep growing as we convert our pipeline in the coming quarters, while order momentum in Europe and Germany remains strong." (Nordex)

BROKER MOVES

Thales (HO FP) - Co. reportedly plans to shift its production to Japan for defence forces, Nikkei reports. (Nikkei)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Technip Energies (TE FP) - Co. has been awarded a large EPC contract by HPCL for its LMBU project at the Mumbai Refinery in Maharashtra, India. (Technip Energies)

Vallourec (VK FP), TotalEnergies (TTE FP) - Vallourec announces that it has been awarded a major contract by TotalEnergies to supply tubular solutions for the development of the Absheron gas field in Azerbaijan. (Vallourec)

BROKER MOVES

Nexans (NEX FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

BMPS (BMPS IM), Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP IM) - BMPS will reportedly hold an extraordinary board meeting on Monday to review Intesa's increased offer and the M&A situation, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

CVC Capital Partners (CVC NA) - Co. agrees to acquire a minority stake in Fibrotex, deal expected to close in H1'27. (CVC)

Eni (ENI IM) - Co. agrees to sell 10% interests in two Indonesian upstream assets operated by Searah. (Eni)

EU-China - The EU will limit the import of Chinese hybrid vehicles at 350k/yr, effective December 1st, Bloomberg reports. The report adds that the cap will increase by 6% annually for the second year of application and will apply for four years. (Bloomberg)

Inwit (INW IM) - Co.'s top shareholders, Ardian and Oak Holding 1, are reportedly arranging the financing to take Inwit private, Reuters reports. (Reuters)

Iveco (IVG IM) - Tata Motors (TMPV IN) raises its offer for Iveco to EUR 14.40/shr, valuing the deal at EUR 3.91bln. (Iveco)

Unipol (UNI IM) - Co. says the ECB and Bank of Italy have given them authorisation to exceed 20% of Bper Banca and acquire de facto control. (Unipol) Unipol CEO said in August that they aim to hold over 30% of a future ‌banking ⁠group combining Bper Banca and assets carved out of BMPS (BMPS IM)

BROKER MOVES

Roche (ROP SW) - Co. announces new one-year data from the Phase 3 MEERKAT and SANDCAT studies evaluating investigational vamikibart. In both MEERKAT and SANDCAT at 52 weeks, a numerically higher proportion of vamikibart-treated patients achieved vision gains compared to sham treatment on the primary endpoint. (Roche)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

ABB (ABBN SW) initiated with Hold at Panmure Gordon

Telia (TELIA SS) - Co. intends to localise its operations further, transferring around 220 positions primarily from its common Technology unit to the country units. Additionally, the Co. is targeting annual gross savings of SEK 1bln, including a total reduction of approximately 900 positions across all units. Q4'26 restructuring charges are expected at SEK 600mln, while reiterating its 2026 outlook and mid-term financial targets. (Telia)

Var Energi (VAR NO) - Q3 Trading Update: Net oil, liquids and natural gas production 369k BOEPD, flat Y/Y. Lowers its FY26 production guidance to "around" 369k BOEPD (prev. guided 390-410k BOEPD), due to operational issues at Johan Castberg and the Jotun FPSO in July and production irregularities in the Åsgard area. (Var Energi)

BROKER MOVES

Tryg (TRYG DC) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs

CLOSES: SPX +0.58% at 7,810, NDX +0.51% at 30,883, DJI +0.83% at 51,655, RUT +0.46% at 2,807.

SECTORS: Real Estate +1.88%, Consumer Discretionary +1.69%, Health +1.58%, Financials +0.90%, Utilities +0.81%, Materials +0.64%, Industrials +0.49%, Technology +0.36%, Consumer Staples +0.11%, Energy -0.17%, Communication Services -0.40%.

Amazon (AMZN) - Amazon is reportedly in talks to acquire Decart AI in a deal valued at around USD 7bln, WSJ reports. (WSJ)

Nvidia (NVDA) - Nvidia is reportedly in talks to boost its investment in Reflection AI or offer the Co. computing power, the FT reports. (FT)