Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 13th August 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks were predominantly in the green as the region took its cue from the mild positive handover from Wall Street, where equities were underpinned by earnings, and September rate hike bets were unwound after in-line CPI data. ASX 200 bucked the trend amid various earnings releases, while RBA Assistant Governor Kent stuck to the hawkish-leaning script in which he noted the possibility of rates increasing further if risks materialise, but acknowledged evidence suggests that monetary policy in Australia is somewhat restrictive, and that the tightening earlier this year is working. Nikkei 225 rallied amid the tech momentum and following softer-than-expected PPI data for Japan. KOSPI outperformed as renewed semiconductor strength lifted the index into a technical bull market. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp diverged, with sentiment initially dampened in Hong Kong as participants reflected on earnings, including mixed results from Tencent, while gains in the mainland were contained after the PBoC reiterated its support pledges in its quarterly implementation report, but refrained from 7-day reverse repo operations for the third consecutive day.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.24% at 6,535, Dax 40 -0.17% at 26,346, FTSE 100 -0.10% at 10,833, CAC 40 -0.46% at 8,675, FTSE MIB -0.01% at 53,699, IBEX 35 -0.05% at 20,204, PSI +0.68% at 9,274, SMI -0.86% at 14,449, AEX -0.40% at 1,112

FTSE 100

Ex-Dividends - Pershing Square (PSH LN), Babcock (BAB LN), GSK (GSK LN), Rio Tinto (RIO LN), Aberdeen (ABDN LN), Shell (SHEL LN), Rentokil (RTO LN), London Stock Exchange (LSEG LN), Haleon (HLN LN), IG Group (IGG LN), NatWest (NWG LN), Melrose (MRO LN), Pearson (PSON LN), IMI (IMI LN), BP (BP/ LN), HSBC (HSBA LN), Fresnillo (FRES LN), Hiscox (HSX LN), Tritax Big Box (BBOX LN) will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend. (dividenddata)

Housing - UK RICS House Price Balance (Jul) -30% vs Exp. -30% (Prev. -33%, Rev. -32%).

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Co.'s Tomago aluminium smelter secures AUD 2.5bln government support package, protecting over 1,000 jobs and supporting nearly 3GW of new renewable generation. (Rio Tinto)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Aviva (AV/ LN) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

Legal & General (LGEN LN) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

Legal & General (LGEN LN) downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Autonomous Research

M&G (MNG LN) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

DAX

RWE (RWE GY) - H1 2026 (EUR): Adj. EBITDA 3.0bln (prev. 2.1bln Y/Y), Adj. Net Income 1.3bln (prev. 0.8bln Y/Y), Adj. EPS 1.77 (prev. 1.08 Y/Y), confirms dividend target of 1.32/shr. Says Adj. EPS is expected to grow by an average 10% annually through to 2031. (RWE)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Evotec (EVT GY) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 143.5mln (prev. 146.3mln Y/Y), Adj. EBITDA -20.8mln (prev. -18.6mln Y/Y). Cut its FY26 revenue guidance to between 570-610mln (prev. guided 595-635mln). (Evotec) Confirms prelim. results and guidance.

Fraport (FRA GY) - Reports July Frankfurt passengers 6.2mln, +1.4% Y/Y. (Fraport)

Hapag-Lloyd (HLAG GY) - Q2 2026 (USD): Revenue 5.84bln (prev. 5.27bln Y/Y), EBITDA 829mln (prev. 820mln Y/Y), EBIT 176mln (prev. 189mln Y/Y). Raises its FY26 guidance, now sees EBITDA between 2.7-3.7bln (prev. guided 2.3-3.2bln) and EBIT between 0.1-1.1bln (prev. guided 0.1-1.0bln). Outlook remains subject to considerable uncertainty due to the highly volatile development of freight rates and the conflict in the Middle East. CEO: “The second quarter was better than the first, driven by significantly higher spot rates and robust demand. Our Gemini network remained resilient and continued to outperform the market, setting the industry benchmark for schedule reliability." (Hapag-Lloyd)

Thyssenkrupp (TKA GY) - Q3 2026 (EUR): Revenue 8.8bln (exp. 8.39bln), Adj. EBIT 183mln (exp. 205mln). Narrows its FY26 guidance, now sees Adj. EBIT between 600-900mln (prev. guided 500-900mln) and net income between -700mln and -400mln (prev. guided -800mln to -400mln). CFO: "we have narrowed our adjusted EBIT forecast upward – especially in light of the still challenging market environment. Moreover, the new credit line ensures our additional financial headroom for the further transformation of the group." (Thyssenkrupp)

Wacker Neuson (WAC GY) - H1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 1.26bln (prev. 1.07bln Y/Y), EBIT 104.7mln (prev. 56.1mln Y/Y). Confirms FY26 guidance. (Wacker Neuson)

BROKER MOVES

Deutsche Post (DHL GY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

Lanxess (LXS GY) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Berenberg

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Adyen (ADYEN NA) - H1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 1.30bln (exp. 1.29bln), Processed volume 803.8bln, +24% Y/Y. Raises its FY26 guidance, now sees net revenue growth between 21-23% (prev. guided 20-22%). (Adyen)

EV Sales - Sales of battery-electric and plug-in hybrids rose 9% Y/Y to 1.85mln units in July, driven by robust growth in Europe while sales weakened in China and North America, according to BMI. (BMI)

Fastned (FAST NA) - H1 2026 (EUR): Operational EBITDA 37.4mln (prev. 17.9mln Y/Y), Underlying EBITDA 13.7mln (prev. 1.4mln Y/Y), Revenue related to charging 75.1mln, +40% Y/Y. The reported revenue is negatively influenced by EUR 5mln relating to Dutch e-credits for Q1'26. Guides FY26 operational EBITDA margin c. 45%.

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Kuehne+Nagel (KNIN SW) - Co. invests in a new container freight station in Cambodia, which will triple container freight station capacity in Cambodia. (Kuehne+Nagel)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Flughafen Zuerich (FHZN SW) - Reports July passengers 3.3mln, +2.4% Y/Y. (Flughafen Zuerich)

PolyPeptide (PPGN SW) - H1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 236.6mln (exp. 218mln), EBITDA 49.1mln (prev. 4.43mln Y/Y), EBIT 22mln (prev. -13.7mln Y/Y). Raises its FY26 guidance, now sees revenue growth between 25-30% Y/Y (prev. guided 20-25%) and EBITDA margin in the high-teens (prev. guided mid-to-high teens). Confirms FY28 outlook. (PolyPeptide)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

EQT (EQT SS) - EQT Infrastructure has offered to buy Cleanaway Waste Management (CWY AT) at a share price of AUD 3.13/shr in cash, valuing the Co. at c. AUD 6.9bln. Cleanaway's board will recommend shareholders to accept the offer. (Cleanaway)

Evolution (EVO SS) - Candle Lake offers SEK 695/shr in an all cash offer for Evolution, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

Pandora (PNDORA DC) - Q2 2026 (DKK): Net Income 875mln (exp. 640mln), Revenue 7.22bln (exp. 7.2bln). Raises FY26 guidance to reflect the IEEPA tariff claim, revenue growth +0-3% Y/Y (prev. -1 to +2% Y/Y) and EBIT margin of 22 - 23% (prev. 21-22%). CEO: "We are making progress in re-energising Pandora's growth engine. Q2 delivered 1% LFL growth, with encouraging early signs from the actions we are taking." LFL sales by region: North America -1%, EMEA -2%, Asia-Pacific +10%, Latin America +18%. Says the one-off income from a partial refund of Pandora’s US IEEPA tariff claim positively impacted the gross margin by 230bp. Excluding this, the gross margin remained solid at 78.2% (prev. 79.3% Y/Y) with efficiencies and promotional discipline offsetting a large proportion of the 270bp external headwinds related to the continuing tariffs, commodities and foreign exchange. (Pandora)

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Co. has signed an additional contract to build a data centre in Virginia worth c. SEK 2.2bln. (Skanska)

Zealand Pharma (ZEAL DC) - H1 2026 (DKK): Revenue 4.53bln (prev. 9.10bln Y/Y), Operating Profit 3.32bln (prev. 7.93bln Y/Y), Net Profit 3.52bln (prev. 7.24bln Y/Y). Keeps FY26 guidance unchanged. In other news, Zealand Pharma agreed to sell most of its rusfertide economics to Royalty Pharma for USD 100mln. Zealand will receive USD 50mln upfront and USD 50mln one year after closing. It is selling rights including a 1% royalty and milestones, while retaining a 0.25% royalty on annual global sales above USD 1.5bln. (Zealand Pharma)

BROKER MOVES

SalMar (SALM NO) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Nordea

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.26% at 7,748, NDX +0.74% at 29,743, DJI -0.04% at 53,775, RUT +0.61% at 3,045

SECTORS: Consumer discretionary -1.4%, Materials -1.19%, Communication services -0.94%, Industrials flat, Financials +0.16%, Energy +0.21%, Health +0.23%, Consumer staples +0.47%, Utilities +0.53%, Technology +1.06%, Real estate +1.08%

Cerebras Systems (CBRS) - Shares fell 17% in extended trading after quarterly revenue missed expectations and gross margins declined, raising concerns about scaling and customer adoption, despite higher FY revenue and margin outlooks. Q2 adj. EBITDA -53.1mln (vs -39.3mln Y/Y), Q2 revenue USD 210mln (exp. 193.6mln). Core revenue more than doubled Y/Y, and cloud revenue nearly quadrupled, while core gross and operating margins improved materially from a year earlier. RPO reached USD 25.4bln. CEO said demand for fast AI inference is enormous, prompting Cerebras to secure additional data centre capacity and expand manufacturing, with customers and partners including OpenAI, AWS, AMD and CrowdStrike. Sees Q3 revenue between USD 214-216mln (exp. 212.0mln), Q3 core gross margin between 38-40%. Raises FY26 revenue view to between USD 880-890mln (exp. 864.4mln; prev. saw 855-865mln), and raises FY26 gross margin guidance to between 41-43% (prev. saw 38-41%). Aims to more than triple revenue in FY27.

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) - Shares fell almost 5% in extended trading despite beating quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, as well as issuing stronger than expected guidance; analysts note that the stock had already rallied sharply on optimism around its growing role in AI infrastructure going into earnings. Q4 adj. EPS 1.22 (exp. 1.17), Q4 revenue USD 17.3bln (exp. 16.83bln). Product orders +35% Y/Y, hyperscale orders more than doubled, and RPO +7% Y/Y to USD 46.7bln, with product RPO +9%, and services RPO +6%. Adj. gross margin 66.3%, product margin 64.8%, services margin of 71.6%. CEO said AI momentum remains broad, while the networking refresh cycle is still in its early stages. Sees Q1 adj. EPS between 1.32-1.34 (exp. 1.14), Q1 revenue between USD 18.0-18.2bln (exp. 16.66bln). For FY27, sees adj. EPS between 5.05-5.11 (exp. 4.80), revenue between USD 72.2-73.4bln (exp. 68.82bln), and FY27 AI infrastructure revenue of USD 7.5bln, with AI orders expected to be meaningfully higher than in FY26.

Coherent Corp. (COHR) - Coherent fell over 2% in extended US trading, despite a quarterly beat and strong outlook, as elevated investor expectations for optical networking suppliers limited the upside. Q4 adj. EPS 1.74 (exp. 1.62), Q4 revenue USD 2.05bln (exp. 1.98bln). Revenue reached a record for the seventh consecutive quarter, while management highlighted significant gross-margin expansion and adj. EPS growth at more than twice the rate of revenue growth in FY26. CEO said demand remains outstanding, led by AI data centres and the shift from copper and electrical interconnects towards optical connectivity, which is materially expanding its addressable market. It is increasing manufacturing capacity to meet accelerating demand, while maintaining disciplined capital allocation. Sees Q1 adj. EPS between 1.85-2.05 (exp. 1.77), Q1 revenue between USD 2.2-2.4bln (exp. 2.13bln).

Ford (F) - Ford plans to move production of some Lincoln models from China to the US beginning in 2030, Reuters reports. CEO Jim Farley said tariffs were the main driver, with the China-built Lincoln Nautilus facing a 52.5% US tariff. Connected Vehicle Rule restrictions on some Chinese technology also influenced the decision.