Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 20th July 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks traded somewhat mixed following the US-Iran escalation over the weekend, in which the sides ramped up their strikes after two US service members were killed during an Iranian strike on Jordan, while key participants were away owing to the holiday closure in Japan for Marine Day. ASX 200 was rangebound with light pertinent catalyst and a lack of data releases overnight. KOSPI underperformed as the tech-related losses late last week caught up with the index on return from a 3-day weekend, while South Korea had temporarily banned new listings of single-stock leveraged ETFs tied to tech companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to curb extreme market volatility. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp rallied with strength seen in energy and tech-related stocks amid higher oil prices and reports that launched a preview of its flagship Qwen3.8 Max model, which is said to be comparable to leading frontier AI models. Furthermore, the PBoC maintained its benchmark LPRs for the 14th consecutive month, while China’s leaders are expected to decide on additional stimulus measures at the Politburo meeting this month.

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. has reportedly cut jobs at its US display, phone and other consumer electronics operations, Reuters reports. The Co. told Reuters that 739 roles in New Jersey have been affected by plans by the Co.’s America unit but the majority of employees have received relocation offers. (Reuters)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.76% at 6,236, Dax 40 -0.35% at 24,828, FTSE 100 +0.27% at 10,600, CAC 40 -0.47% at 8,339, FTSE MIB -0.94% at 51,882, IBEX 35 -0.45% at 19,217, PSI +0.27% at 9,062, SMI +0.44% at 14,330, AEX -0.94% at 1,092

SECTORS: Energy 1.79%, Utilities 1.57%, Consumer Stpl 0.87%, Telecoms 0.73%, Healthcare 0.14%, Materials -0.31%, Industrials -0.53%, Financials -0.71%, Consumer Disc -1.25%, IT -2.81%

FTSE 100

UK Housing - Rightmove House Prices YY (Jul) -0.4% (Prev. -0.5%); Rightmove House Prices MM (Jul) -1.0% (Prev. -0.6%).

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Computacenter (CCC LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

DAX

Deutsche Bank (DBK GY) - Co. is reportedly preparing to sell c. USD 3bln in debt for Baker Tilly Advisory to refinance private credit loans, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Eurofins (ERF FP) - Co. agrees to acquire Element Materials Technology's Life Sciences Testing Services business in North America for USD 400mln. (Eurofins)

Teleperformance (TEP FP) - Co. is planning to embed AI in the workflow of its workspace, with the CEO stating that they have already started integrating AI tools. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

EU Industrials - A European Parliament deal on the EU's new EUR 410bln industrial fund reportedly collapsed after the EPP insisted on scrapping green rules, Politico reports. (Politico)

Prysmian (PRY IM) - Co. signs a 10-year optical cables agreement with Molex worth up to EUR 5.5bln. Prysmian expects annual revenue of up to EUR 1.1bln from 2031. (Prysmian)

Ryanair (RYA ID) - Q1 2027 (EUR): Profit After Tax 538mln (exp. 624mln, prev. 820mln Y/Y), Revenue 4.38bln (exp. 4.47bln), customers 61.3mln, +5.9% Y/Y. Outlook: Sees FY customers 216mln (exp. 216.94mln), Q2 pricing is trending modestly lower Y/Y, has zero visibility into H2 so it remains too early to provide meaningful FY27 PAT guidance. Profit after Tax fell 34% as the price of its 20% unhedged jet-fuel spiked and fares fell 6%, primarily due to the impact of the Middle East conflict and the first part of Easter holiday falling into PY Q4. The Middle East conflict led to consumer hesitancy, concerns about EU jet-fuel shortages, economic uncertainty and later bookings. Says a few airlines are on the edge and are going to have a very difficult winter and would not be surprised if some fail. In the media call, the CFO says there is no shortage of jet fuel. (Ryanair)

Telecom Italia (TIT IM), Poste Italiane (PST IM) - Telecom Italia’s Board has unanimously approved Poste Italiane’s EUR 10.8bln takeover bid as financially fair, and gave a positive assessment. (Telecom Italia)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Belimo Holding (BEAN SW) - H1 2026 (CHF): Net Profit 124.9mln (prev. 101.3mln Y/Y), Revenue 676.4mln (exp. 649.3mln), EBIT 152.5mln, +19.1% Y/Y. Affirms FY26 EBIT margin above 20%. (Belimo)

Galderma (GALD SW) - Co. launches Alastin, its premium regenerative skincare brand into Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. (Galderma)

PolyPeptide (PPGN SW), Samsung Biologics (207940 KS) - Samsung Biologics has made a CHF 1.46bln all-cash bid for PolyPeptide, with the offer at CHF 44.31/shr. (PR Newswire)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Thule (THULE SS) - Q2 2026 (SEK): Revenue 3.42bln (exp. 3.46bln, prev. 3.40bln Y/Y), EBIT 756mln (prev. 703mln Y/Y). CEO: "All four of our product areas showed growth during the quarter. As before, Region Europe grew faster than Region North America, where we are making progress but the market remains the most challenging. In Region Rest of the world, sales increased slightly. Will implement price increases to mitigate rising raw material prices." (Thule)

BROKER MOVES

Lagercrantz (LAGRB SS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SEB

Orion (ORNBV FH) downgraded to Hold from Buy at SEB

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.01% at 7,458, NDX -1.49% at 28,593, DJI -0.77% at 52,151, RUT -0.42% at 2,962

SECTORS: Communication Services -2.38%, Consumer Discretionary -1.58%, Technology -1.11%, Financials -0.91%, Materials -0.86%, Consumer Staples -0.77%, Utilities -0.72%, Health -0.44%, Industrials -0.40%, Real Estate -0.01%, Energy +1.16%.

Boeing (BA) - The FAA said it will allow Boeing to resume issuing airworthiness certificates for all 737 MAX and 787 aircraft from 20th July, following safety and production-quality reviews. The regulator will continue inspections, audits and monitoring of Boeing’s production system. In other news, in its 20-year outlook report, Boeing maintained its 20-year forecast for 43,625 aircraft deliveries in 2026-2045, including 33,545 single-aisle jets. It expects a near-2K aircraft undersupply entering 2026, passenger traffic growth recovering by 2028, and China accounting for 21% of deliveries. (Bloomberg)

Tesla (TSLA) - Tesla is increasing production at its Gruenheide factory in Germany and plans to expand into new markets, according to Bloomberg. Tesla Manufacturing Brandenburg expects significantly higher 2026 production than in 2025, alongside increased capacity utilisation, reflecting stronger anticipated demand. (Bloomberg)