Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 22nd January 2026

APAC stocks traded entirely in the green, tracking the rebound on Wall Street after President Trump withdrew plans for additional tariffs on EU countries. ASX 200 opened around +0.8%, lifted by the improved global tone after US tariff removal, though the index later dipped following a hotter-than-expected Australian jobs report. Nikkei 225 posted firm gains of nearly 2%, snapping a five-day losing streak as chipmakers and financials advanced and JGBs stabilised. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp the laggards, despite a brief recovery tech and easing trade-tension concerns after the US rollback of tariffs.

Baidu (9888 HK / BIDU) - Co. releases its official Ernie 5.0 large language model. (Newswires)

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.36% at 5,871, Dax 40 -0.51% at 24,578, FTSE 100 +0.11% at 10,138, CAC 40 +0.08% at 8,069, FTSE MIB -0.50% at 44,488, IBEX 35 +0.06% at 17,440, PSI -0.04% at 8,460, SMI -0.29% at 13,132, AEX +0.28% at 994

SECTORS: Materials 2.30%, Energy 1.14%, Consumer Disc 0.66%, IT 0.49%, Utilities -0.08%, Industrials -0.16%, Healthcare -0.41%, Financials -0.48%, Consumer Stpl -0.64%, Telecoms -0.81%

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Admiral (ADM LN) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

Deutsche Boerse (DB1 GY) - Co. agreed to buy Allfunds Group (ALLFG NA), in a deal worth EUR 5.3bln. (Newswires)

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - FY25 (EUR): Automotive unit net cash flow of around 6bln (prev. 5bln Y/Y); net for the unit was above 34bln at the end of 2025 (prev. 31bln Q/Q). Notes that "we have further expanded our strong position in Europe despite new competitors". Region: Significant growth in Europe (+4 percent) and South America (+12 percent) contrasts with expected declines due to challenging market conditions in North America (-10 percent) and China (-8 percent). (Volkswagen) Shares +4% in pre-market trade

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Air France KLM (AF FP) - CEO is hopeful that the airline will comprise of one or two additional airlines by the end of 2026. (Newswires)

Eiffage (FGR FP) - Eiffage wins in consortium the contract to replace the steel bridge over the Kiel Canal in Germany. (Eiffage)

Thales (HO FP) - Thales Alenia Space wins a contract for France's DESIR radar imagining mission. (Newswires)

Michelin (ML FP) - Prelim FY25 FCF EUR 2.1bln (prev. guided 1.5-1.8bln). This outperformance is primarily driven by Capex discipline and a tight steering of operations impacting working capital (inventory, accounts payable & accounts receivable). (Michelin)

SocGen (GLE FP) - Co. to axe 1,800 jobs in France as chief steps up cost cuts, FT reports. (FT)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Getlink (GET FP) - FY25 (EUR): Revenue 1.6bln (prev. 1.61bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

Ipsen (IPN FP) - Ipsen announced that the Arbitral Tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has issued a final decision in favor of Ipsen, dismissing the claim initiated by Galderma in the arbitration proceedings related to Ipsen’s termination of the R&D agreement. (Ipsen)

Ubisoft (UBI FP) - Cuts FY forecasts as it announces restructuring; introduces 5 specialized creative houses as overhauls to regain creative leadership and agility. Co. expects significant impact on its financial trajectory, specifically in 2026 and 2027 due to portfolio refocus. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Bankinter (BKT SM) - FY (EUR): NII 2.23bln (prev. 2.27bln Y/Y), Net Profit 1.09bln (prev. 953mln Y/Y), CET1 Ratio 12.7% (prev. 12.4%). (Bankinter)

Santander (SAN SM) - Co. is planning to let more bankers use WhatsApp (META) after some complained the existing partial ban is hurting business, Bloomberg reports citing sources. (Bloomberg)

Venture Global (VG), Repsol (REP SM) - Venture Global said an arbitration tribunal ruled in its favour in a dispute with Repsol over LNG deliveries from the Calcasieu Pass project under a 20yr contract. The ruling follows earlier cases involving BP and Shell. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Galderma (GALD SW) – Company showcases the latest scientific advances behind the industry’s broadcast injectable aesthetic portfolio. (Galderma)

Galenica (GALE SW) – FY25 (CHF): Revenue (4.14bln) + 5% Y/Y. Affirms FY26 Adj EBIT +10-12%. Dividends to be at least as much as Y/Y. (Galenica)

BROKER MOVES

Barry Callebaut (BARN SW) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux

VAT (VACN SW) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Oddo

Essity (ESSITYB SS) - Q4 (SEK): Net Sales 34bln (exp. 35.1bln), -8.2% Y/Y, EBITDA 5bln, +9% Y/Y. (Essity)

EQT (EQT SS) - Co. is to buy Coller Capital for USD 3.2bln. The Transaction is expected to be mid-single-digit accretive to EQT's fee-related earnings. The deal expected to close in Q3. (EQT)

Tryg (TRYG DC) - Q4 (DKK): EPS 2.09 (exp. 1.91), Insurance Service 7.94bln (prev. 7.05bln Y/Y), Combined Ratio 80.3% (prev. 81.7% Y/Y). (Tryg)

Telenor (TEL NO) - Co. agrees to sell True Corporation stake for around NOK 39bln. (Telenor)

BROKER MOVES

NKT (NKT DC) downgraded to Hold from Buy by SEB

Norsk Hydro (NHY NO) downgraded to Sell from Hold by Danske Bank

CLOSES: SPX +1.16% at 6,876, NDX +1.36% at 25,327, DJI +1.21% at 49,077, RUT +2.00% at 2,698

SECTORS: Utilities +0.20%, Consumer Staples +0.25%, Real Estate +0.38%, Financials +0.42%, Technology +0.99%, Communication Services +1.44%, Consumer Discretionary +1.60%, Industrials +1.71%, Health +1.80%, Materials +1.87%, Energy +2.38%.

Apple (AAPL) - Apple announced a Lunar New Year promotion in China offering discounts of up to CNY 1,000, on selected products from 24-27th January, using specific payment methods. (Newswires)

Kinder Morgan (KMI) - Q4 adj. EPS 0.39 (exp. 0.37), Q4 revenue USD 4.51bln (exp. 4.33bln); highlighted its role in supplying over 40% of natgas feedstock to US LNG export facilities. Board raised its cash dividend +2% Y/Y to USD 0.2925/shr, and expects to declare USD 1.19/shr for FY26 (+2% Y/Y). For FY26, lowers its adj. EPS view to 1.36 (exp. 1.39), while budgeted adj. EBITDA is seen at USD 8.6bln (+2.5% Y/Y) with net debt/adj. EBITDA targeted at 3.8x; budget assumptions include the impact of the sale of the EagleHawk equity investment.