Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 1st May 2026

Holiday: Labor Day (Eurozone cash and derivatives closed)

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks traded with decent gains, helped by the positivity seen stateside. The majority of markets are closed today for Labour Day. ASX 200 rebounded after 8 straight days of losses. Miners led gains while Energy underperformed following Thursday’s drop in oil prices. ANZ reported cash profit that beat estimates; however shares have slipped lower after it raised its coverage ratio by 4bps due to the heightened geopolitical risk. Nikkei 225 posted decent gains, despite the sudden JPY strength amid intervention talk. Tokyo Electron benefited following its positive Q4 results, in which net profit beat estimates.

Mitsubishi (8058 JT) - FY25/26 (JPY) Net 800.5bln (prev. 950.7bln Y/Y), Pretax Profit 1.10tln (prev. 1.39tln Y/Y), Revenue 18.9tln (prev. 18.6tln Y/Y). (Mitsubishi)

Mitsui & Co (8031 JT) - FY25/26 (JPY): Net 834bln (prev. 900.4bln Y/Y), Pretax Profit 1.09tln (prev. 1.14tln Y/Y), Revenue 14tln (prev. 14.7tln Y/Y), guides initial FY Net of 920bln. (Mitsui)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +1.00% at 5,874, Dax 40 +1.33% at 24,272, FTSE 100 +1.62% at 10,379, CAC 40 +0.53% at 8,115, FTSE MIB +0.94% at 48,246, IBEX 35 +0.78% at 17,781, PSI +1.47% at 9,345, SMI +0.80% at 13,136, AEX +1.70% at 1,014

SECTORS: Healthcare 2.21%, Utilities 2.02%, IT 1.90%, Industrials 1.84%, Materials 1.63%, Energy 1.49%, Consumer Stpl 1.31%, Telecoms 0.68%, Financials 0.61%, Consumer Disc 0.56%

FTSE 100 - Remains open as usual

Diageo (DGE LN) - CEO announced a strategic push into the ready-to-drink beverages category at a meeting with staff on Tuesday, FT reports citing sources. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Page (PAGE LN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Aixtron (AIXA GY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

JCDecaux (DEC FP) - Co. completed the sale of an additional portion of its stake in APG|SGA to NZZ. (JCDecaux)

Sopra Steria (SOP FP) - Co. announced that it has completed its acquisitions of Starion and Nexova creating a leading European player in the space and cybersecurity sectors.

BROKER MOVES

Technip Energies (TE FP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

PAN EUROPE

Aedifica (AED BB) - Filing of merger proposal and convocation of Extraordinary General Meetings to approve the merger with Cofinimmo. (Aedifica)

UCB (UCB BB) - Co. announces acquisition of IMIDomics’ Patient Insight Business, strengthening capabilities in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs). (UCB)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

US

Apple (AAPL) - Shares rose 2.5% in extended US trading after it reported an earnings and revenue beat, driven by strong iPhone and services sales, better-than-expected China revenue, upbeat revenue guidance, and signs the company is managing through higher memory costs and supply constraints. It reported Q2 adj. EPS of 2.01 (exp. 1.95), Q2 revenue USD 111.2bln (exp. 109.45bln). Net income came in at USD 29.6bln (exp. 28.5bln) and operating income at USD 35.9bln (exp. 34.8bln). iPhone net sales were USD 56.99bln (exp. 57.21bln), Services a record USD 30.98bln (exp. 30.39bln), Mac USD 8.40bln (exp. 8.02bln), iPad USD 6.91bln (exp. 6.66bln), Wearables, Home and Accessories USD 7.90bln (exp. 7.70bln), and Greater China USD 20.50bln (exp. 19.45bln). Board raised quarterly dividend +4% to 0.27/shr, and authorised an additional USD 100bln share repurchase programme. Apple also confirmed it is no longer targeting a net cash neutral position. CEO Cook noted that supply constraints in Q3 will be concentrated across several Mac models and flagged significantly higher memory costs ahead. The CFO sees Q3 revenue growth of between 14-17% Y/Y (exp. +9%), implying a range of approximately USD 107.2-110.0bln (exp. 102.6bln); Q3 gross margin seen between 47.5-48.5%, and expects Services revenue growth in Q3 to be broadly in line with Q2 when adjusting for favourable FX impacts. Cook also said John Ternus was the right leader for Apple going forward.

Roblox (RBLX) - Roblox shares tumbled almost 20% in afterhours trading after it reported Q1 user numbers below expectations, following the implementation of safety features that restrict how children use the platform; it also cut its FY bookings forecast, attributing the revision to its aggressive push to enhance safety. Q1 EPS -0.35 (exp. -0.41), Q1 revenue USD 1.7bln (exp. 1.75bln). Q1 average DAUs +35% Y/Y to 132mln (exp. 143.8mln), hours engaged +43% Y/Y to 31bln. Expects a sequential decline in DAUs in Q2, reflecting deceleration observed in Q1,and so far in Q2. Has updated its FY outlook to reflect a continuation of safety-related headwinds; sees Q2 revenue between USD 1.39-1.45bln (exp. 1.83bln), sees Q2 bookings between USD 1.55-1.61bln (exp. 1.86bln); sees FY26 revenue growth between 20-25%, bookings growth between 8-12%.

Sandisk (SNDK) - Shares fell 4.8% in extended trading, despite beating earnings, revenue and guidance, with reports suggesting that expectations were already extremely elevated after a huge rise in its shares. Q3 adj. EPS 23.41 (exp. 14.43), Q3 revenue USD 5.95bln (exp. 4.69bln). CEO said the quarter marked a fundamental inflection point, and the company is advancing to a new business model built on multi-year customer engagements backed by firm financial commitments, driving structurally higher and more durable earnings power. Sandisk highlighted its zero-debt balance sheet, strong cash generation and recently authorised share repurchase programme. Sees Q4 adj. EPS between 30.00-33.00 (exp. 22.70), and Q4 revenue between USD 7.75-8.25bln (exp. 6.493bln).