Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 21st July 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mixed following the subdued handover from the US, where most major indices declined as oil prices and yields climbed amid the ongoing geopolitical backdrop, although the Nasdaq showed some resilience amid a bounce in tech and telecommunications. ASX 200 lacked firm direction with price action contained within relatively tight parameters in the absence of notable data or key macro drivers. Nikkei 225 rallied on return from the long weekend, with some bargain-hunting after last Friday's slump. KOSPI shrugged off earlier indecision and rallied amid a tech rebound, with notable strength seen in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed with price action range-bound as they took a breather after rallying yesterday amid stimulus hopes and China’s “national team” buying close to USD 9bln in equities.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.10% at 6,225, Dax 40 +0.12% at 24,862, FTSE 100 -0.71% at 10,525, CAC 40 +0.02% at 8,340, FTSE MIB -0.04% at 51,863, IBEX 35 -0.05% at 19,207, PSI +0.09% at 9,071, SMI -0.71% at 14,241, AEX -0.13% at 1,091

FTSE 100

Barclays (BARC LN), Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. is partnering with Samsung on a new US credit card. The Samsung Galaxy Card will have no annual fee and will offer 5% cash rewards on all in-store or online purchases made with Samsung in the US. (Samsung Electronics)

London Stock Exchange (LSEG LN) - The LSE has revealed plans to allow round-the-clock trading, saying it would launch a night-time trading venue in H1'27. The Co. said the new exchange will operate separately from the main market and initially offer access to exchange-traded products tracking the UK and US market. (FT)

Revolut - Co. has received a banking license in Australia, with the APRA approving the Co.'s local arm to operate as an authorised deposit taking institution. (APRA)

UK Defence - Former Defence Minister John Healey has been named UK Chancellor. The key reason Healey quit as defence minister was that he argued that Britain should spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030. It is currently on track to be 2.7% by 2030. (The Times)

UK Energy - The UK government is to remove VAT on electricity bills from October 1st, funded by cancellation of the Digital ID programme, as part of new tax cut measures, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Cohort (CHRT LN) initiated with Buy at Berenberg

Intertek (ITRK LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies

DAX

Mercedes Benz (MBG GY) - Co. is reportedly pushing to water down a proposed law in the US that would currently prohibit the sale of connected vehicles by automakers that are more than 15% owned by Chinese entities, Bloomberg reports. Mercedes is pushing to raise the threshold for permitted Chinese ownership to 25%, as the Co. is nearly 20% owned by Chinese entities. (Bloomberg)

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Co. is reportedly nearing a sale of its stake in its India unit to JSW Group, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Fraport (FRA GY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Co.'s CEO says they are on track towards its FY target of 870 deliveries after delivering 15% more aircraft in H1'26 than in H1'25. (CNBC)

Air France-KLM (AF FP) - Co. announces the temporary suspension of all flights to Riyadh and Dubai. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Argan (ARG FP) - H1 2026 (EUR): Rental income 109.7mln (prev. 105.8mln), raises its FY26 LTV EPRA ratio to c. 42% (prev. guided c. 40%). (Argan)

Eramet (ERA FP) - Co. signs an MoU with Gabon to sustainably transform up to 700kt of manganese ore per year by the end of 2031. (Eramet)

Valeo (FR FP) - Co. announces that it will develop and produce electric drone motors in France for Harmattan AI. Production is scheduled to begin in early 2027. (Valeo)

BROKER MOVES

Veolia (VIE FP) reinitiated with Neutral at Citi

PAN EUROPE

Bawag (BG AV) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Core revenue 589.7mln, +8% Y/Y; Operating Income 597.4mln, +8% Y/Y; Net Profit 255mln, +21% Y/Y. Reaffirms its 2026 target of net profit above EUR 960mln. (Bawag)

EU-China Trade - China is considering tighter export controls on AI models and chips, according to FT. (FT)

Wienerberger (WIE AV) - Q2 Trading Update (EUR): Revenue 1.41bln, +13% Y/Y; Operating EBITDA 230mln, -9% Y/Y. Cuts its FY26 operating EBITDA guidance to c. 700mln (prev. guided "slight improvement" to 760mln Y/Y). (Wienerberger)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Novartis (NOVN SW) - Q2 2026 (USD): Net Revenue 14.4bln (exp. 14.1bln), Core EPS 2.41 (exp. 2.20), Operating income 4.75bln (prev. 4.86bln Y/Y), Net income 3.26bln (prev. 4.02bln Y/Y). Backs its FY26 view, expecting net sales to grow low single-digit and core operating income to decline low single-digit. Drug Sales: Entresto 1.18bln (exp. 1.29bln), Cosentyx 1.82bln (exp. 1.14bln). CEO: “Novartis delivered a solid second quarter, returning to sales growth driven by continued momentum from Kisqali, Kesimpta, Scemblix and Pluvicto. We are on track for multiple important readouts ahead in the second half, and remain on track to deliver our full-year guidance and mid-term outlook.” (Novartis)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Spruengli (LISN SW) – H1 2026 (CHF): Sales 2.33bln (exp. 2.36bln), EBIT 26.2mln (prev. 259.2mln Y/Y). The Group’s performance was affected by ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and continued market volatility, which weighed on consumer sentiment and tourism flows, particularly in Europe. North America and Rest of the World grew double-digit. With targeted actions underway to support volume recovery in the second half of 2026, the Group confirms its full-year guidance and remains confident in its medium- to long-term growth ambitions. (Lindt)

Julius Baer (BAER SW) – H1 2026 (CHF): Adj. EPS 3.27 (exp. 3.06), AuM 547bln (exp. 545.55bln), Adj. Pretax Profit 813.9mln (exp. 776.2mln), Adj. Cost To Income Ratio 62.6% (exp. 64.8%), CET1 Ratio 18.5% (end-2025 17.4%). The Group notes that H1 2025 was impacted by a non-M&A-related notable item: materially elevated net credit losses of CHF 130mln (CHF 103mln net of taxes). These resulted from increased loan loss provisions on selected exposures in the mortgage and private debt loan books in H1 2025. (Julius Baer)

Schindler (SCHN SW) - H1 2026 (CHF): Revenue 5.33bln (exp. 5.39bln), Adj. EBIT 706mln (prev. 705mln Y/Y), Orders 5.79bln (exp. 5.8bln), affirms FY26 guidance. (Schindler)

Swatch (UHR SW) - H1 2026 (CHF): Revenue 3.12bln (exp. 3.05bln), Net Income 16mln (exp. 84.3mln), Op. Profit 52mln (exp. 131.8mln). Commentary: The strongly marked acceleration observed in May and June, confirmed in July, enables better utilization of production capacity and will lead to a significant improvement in profitability in the second half of the year. (Swatch)

BROKER MOVES

Belimo (BEAN SW) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

SCANDINAVIA

Alfa Laval (ALFA SS) - Q2 2026 (SEK): Revenue 18.1bln (exp. 17.9bln), Net income 2.04bln (exp. 2.35bln, prev. 2.13bln Y/Y). (Alfa Laval)

Boliden (BOL SS) - Q2 2026 (SEK): Revenue 25.7bln (exp. 29.1bln), EPS 7.81 (exp. 8.10, prev. 2.02 Y/Y)), EBIT 3.19bln (exp. 3.23bln), FCF -2.11bln (prev. -12.35bln Y/Y). Affirms its FY26 guidance. (Boliden)

Var Energi (VAR NO) – Q2 2026 (USD): Total Income 3.72bln (exp 3.71bln). Increased Q2 dividend and Q3 dividend guidance of USD 350mln. On track to meet full year production guidance. Higher production in the second half 2026 with new projects and wells onstream. Separately, Co. to buy Bluenord in a USD 1.3bln cash-and-stock deal. BlueNord shareholders will, as a merger consideration, receive 248.4mln new Var Energi shares and USD 204mln in cash. (Var Energi)

Wartsila (WRT1V FH) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 1.56bln (exp. 1.62bln), Adj. EBIT 218mln (exp. 219mln), Order intake 2.85bln (exp. 2.50bln). (Wartsila)

BROKER MOVES

DNB (DNB NO) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs

Lifco (LIFCOB SS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Danske Bank

Swedbank (SWEDA SS) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.19% at 7,443, NDX +0.04% at 28,604, DJI -0.59% at 51,844, RUT -0.67% at 2,942

SECTORS: Communication Services +0.74%, Energy +0.55%, Technology +0.10%, Consumer Discretionary -0.39%, Financials -0.39%, Real Estate -0.45%, Utilities -0.53%, Consumer Staples -0.54%, Industrials -0.77%, Materials -0.94%, Health -1.15%

Nebius (NBIS), Nvidia (NVDA) - Nvidia disclosed a 9.3% stake in Nebius, comprising roughly 22.26mln shares including a warrant, obtained as part of a USD 2bln investment made earlier this year. Nvidia cannot exercise the warrant before 11th September.

Oracle (ORCL) - Oracle faces over USD 7bln in collateral requirements for its Wisconsin data centre after the state's Public Service Commission declined to reconsider credit rules imposed on utility We Energies, FT reports. The yearly collateral cost exceeds USD 100mln. The facility underpins Oracle's USD 300bln contract with OpenAI. (FT)

Steel Dynamics (STLD) - Q2 EPS 3.69 (exp. 3.69), Q2 revenue USD 6.1bln (exp. 5.53bln). Steel shipments reached a record 3.7mln tons, while improving steel pricing drove a sequential 30% increase in consolidated operating income. The CEO said steel pricing continued to improve during Q2, supporting strong performance across the steel platform, while metals recycling, steel fabrication and aluminium also performed solidly. The CEO noted that customer sentiment, order activity and pricing continue to improve, and it remains confident that market conditions support strong domestic steel and aluminium consumption through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027. Commissioning of its aluminium flat rolled products mill and San Luis Potosi recycled aluminium slab centre continues, with two of three cold mills operational and the third expected to begin commercial operations in August, while the second CASH line is expected to begin material qualifications in Q4 2026.