Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 28th August 2026

APAC stocks were mostly positive but with gains capped following the varied performance stateside, where all indices rose and the Nasdaq outperformed post-NVIDIA earnings, but almost all sectors were in the red aside from tech, while the attention turns to the Jackson Hole Symposium and Fed Chair Warsh's keynote speech. ASX 200 was higher with notable outperformance in tech, although consumer stocks and real estate lagged amid the recent increased bets for the RBA to resume its hiking cycle next month. Nikkei 225 rallied as participants digested the latest data releases, including a surprise decline in the Unemployment Rate, while Tokyo CPI matched estimates, with the Core reading remaining beneath the 2% goal. KOSPI bucked the trend amid weakness in South Korean tech giants despite the sector doing much of the heavy lifting across global markets, while there was a report that SK Hynix lagged rivals in NAND process-node transitions, with slower upgrades and reduced NAND capex eroding its cost competitiveness and market share. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were kept afloat but with the upside limited amid a slew of earnings releases and with participants also bracing for results from Chinese big banks.

China Credit Rating - S&P affirms China at A+; Outlook Stable. Says a stable outlook on long term rating reflects the view that China will provide larger fiscal support to keep the economy growing at around 4% over the next two years. (S&P)

Toyota Motor (7203 JT) - Global sales for July 856.125 units, -4.8% Y/Y; Production -1.4% Y/Y. Sales by region: China -24.3%, US -0.8%, Middle East -44.5%, Japan +12.4%. (Toyota Motor)

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.73% at 6,424, Dax 40 +0.27% at 26,356, FTSE 100 -0.79% at 10,793, CAC 40 -1.68% at 8,320, FTSE MIB -1.17% at 52,265, IBEX 35 -0.93% at 19,882, PSI -0.60% at 9,389, SMI -1.11% at 14,381, AEX -0.40% at 1,103

UK Economy - Lloyds Business Barometer (Aug) +53% (Prev. +49%). "Overall, businesses are reporting stronger customer demand, greater optimism about the wider economy and growing confidence in their own trading outlook, all of which will be helping to support investment and growth plans". (Lloyds)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Erste

Shell (SHEL LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Erste

Tesco (TSCO LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Erste

Bayer (BAYN GY) - The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a challenge by plaintiffs who disagreed with Bayer's effort to resolve Roundup lawsuits through a USD 7.25bln state court class action settlement. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Siemens (SIE GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Erste

Vinci (DG FP) - July airport passenger traffic +0.4% Y/Y. (Vinci)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Voltalia (VLTSA FP) - Co. has received authorisation to install a USD 35.24bln data centre at the Pecem port complex in Brazil, which will ⁠include expansion of wind and solar power capacity to supply the data centre, as well as a reclaimed-water cooling system. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Ackermans & Van Haaren (ACKB BB) - H1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 3.03bln (prev. 3.03bln Y/Y), Net Profit 339.6mln (prev. 273.2mln Y/Y). Affirms its FY26 outlook, should see net profit growth of over 10%. (Ackermans & Van Haaren)

Asseco Poland (ACP PW) - Q2 2026 (PLN): Revenue 4.85bln (prev. 4.46bln Y/Y), Net Profit 201.2mln (prev. 146mln Y/Y). (Asseco Poland)

Generali (G IM), Banca Generali (BGN IM), BMPS (BMPS IM) - Co. says it is willing to consider the takeover of Banca Generali from BMPS, but stated that the bid was unsolicited and not agreed in advance. (Newswires)

Shell (SHEL LN) , Unimot (UNT PW) - Talks between the two Cos regarding the Russian-linked Schwedt refinery have reportedly concluded, Bloomberg reports. Shell has been attempting to sell its 37.5% stake in the refinery, given its links to Rosneft. (Bloomberg)

Strabag (STR AV) - H1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 9.15bln (exp. 8.65bln), Net Profit 119mln (exp. 123mln), EBIT 174mln (exp. 166mln). Raises its FY26 guidance, now sees output volume near 23bln (prev. guided "around" 22bln) and EBIT margin between 5.5-6% (prev. guided 5-5.5%). (Strabag)

BROKER MOVES

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Ems Chemie (EMSN SW) - H1 2026 (CHF): Net Sales 1.01bln (prev. 1.02bln Y/Y), EBITDA 335mln (prev. 324mln Y/Y), EBIT 309mln (prev. 296mln Y/Y). (EMS Chemie)

Flughafen Zurich (FHZN SW) - H1 2026 (CHF): Revenue 673.6mln, +5% Y/Y; Aviation Revenue 345.2mln, +5% Y/Y; EBITDA 374.2mln, +4% Y/Y. Expects passenger numbers at Zurich to exceed 33mln. (Flughafen Zurich)

BROKER MOVES

Frontline (FRO NO) - Q2 2026 (USD): Revenue 943.3mln (exp. 758.9mln), Net Operating Income 671.5mln (prev. 131.9mln Y/Y), Net Profit 659.2mln (prev. 77.5mln Y/Y). (Frontline)

Nokian Renkaat (TYRES FH) - Co. CEO says plans are progressing in some areas towards its sales and profitability targets and that he feels "pretty strong" about the goals. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

CLOSES: SPX +0.72% at 7,731, NDX +1.43% at 29,642, DJI +0.20% at 53,574, RUT +0.28% at 3,014.

SECTORS: Technology +3.40%, Energy -0.37%, Financials -0.58%, Materials -0.71%, Utilities -0.75%, Communication Services -0.75%, Industrials -0.84%, Real Estate -0.92%, Consumer Discretionary -1.02%, Health -1.10%, Consumer Staples

Marvell (MRVL) - Marvell shares fell over 8% in extended trading, only narrowly beat expectations, gross margin guidance came in at the low end of consensus, and investors were disappointed that longer-term fiscal guidance was deferred. Q2 EPS 0.94 (exp. 0.93), Q2 revenue USD 2.739bln (exp. 2.71bln). Data Centre revenue +46% Y/Y as AI-related bookings remained exceptionally robust, and demand broadened across the portfolio, including Connectivity. Exec said revenue growth is expected to accelerate further through the remainder of FY27, with significant acceleration in the Custom business beginning in H2 FY27. Sees Q3 EPS between 1.05-1.15 (exp. 1.08), sees Q3 revenue USD 3.15bln +/- 5% (exp. 3.04bln), and sees Q3 gross margin between 57.5-58.5% (exp. 58.5%). Raised its revenue outlook for both FY27 and FY28, and will give details on FY29 at its October investor day.

Nvidia (NVDA) - Co. has reportedly halted some revenue-sharing deals with AI cloud companies, the WSJ reported. The report added that the programme was paused last week but that it could still revamp the deals or combine them into another programme at a later date. (WSJ)

PayPal (PYPL) - A group led by Advent and Stripe has reportedly abandoned its pursuit of Paypal, Bloomberg reports, with sources stating that the group is no longer pursuing a deal. (Bloomberg) WSJ earlier reported that the group was valuing PayPal at c. USD 53bln

Workday (WDAY) - Shares edged higher in extended trading after a Q2 beat. Q2 adj. EPS 2.75 (exp. 2.61), Q2 revenue USD 2.65bln (exp. 2.64bln). Subscription revenue +13.9% Y/Y to USD 2.471bln. AI drove more than 25% of new Annual Contract Value, and more than 5,500 customers were using at least one organic Workday agent. Authorises a USD 4.0bln share repurchase programme. Sees Q3 subscription revenue +12% Y/Y at USD 2.515bln, sees Q3 adj. operating margin at 30.0%. Raises FY27 subscription revenue view to between USD 9.94-9.95bln (prev. saw 9.925-9.95bln), and sees FY27 adj. operating margin of 31%. Backs FY27 capex view at USD 270mln. Targets FY28 subscription revenue growth of approximately 11%, and expects adj. operating margin to expand by at least two percentage points next year.

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) - Ulta Beauty fell 3.2% in extended trading despite raising its FY earnings outlook. Q2 EPS 6.55 (exp. 6.19), Q2 revenue USD 3.04bln (exp. 2.98bln), Q2 comp sales +3.8% Y/Y, with net sales +8.9% Y/Y, supported by comparable sales growth, the Space NK acquisition and 13 net new US stores; nearly half of sales came from exclusive brands and products. CEO said there was no notable change in consumer behaviour and noted continued demand for prestige products. Sees H2 EPS growth between 9-12%. Raises FY26 EPS to between 28.70-29.00 (exp. 28.77; prev. saw 28.36-28.80), raises FY26 revenue growth to between 6.7-7.2% (prev. saw 6%-7%), raises FY26 comparable sales growth to between 3.2-3.7% (prev. saw 2.5%-3.5%). Maintains FY26 CapEx view between USD 400-450mln.