Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 2nd September 2026

APAC stocks were pressured as the risk-off mood persisted following a surge in oil prices and upside in yields, triggered by the latest exchange of US-Iran strikes, while President Trump warned that the "biggest attack of them all... is waiting in the wings" and that there will be very little left of Iran. ASX 200 was dragged lower by underperformance in miners, materials, resources and tech stocks, while better-than-expected GDP data was overshadowed by the geopolitical escalation in the Middle East. Nikkei 225 fell amid pressure from mining and tech, while there were comments from US Treasury Secretary Bessent, who called on Japan to stop reflation and shift from Abenomics to Takaichi-nomics. KOSPI led the declines in the region with tech stocks hit alongside the higher yield environment. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the broad downbeat mood amid weakness in some auto names following monthly sales updates and with the mainland not helped after the PBoC's open market operations amount was at zero.

Australian Growth - GDP Growth Rate (Q2 QQ) 0.4% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. 0.3%); GDP Growth Rate (Q2 YY) 2.1% vs. Exp. 1.8% (Prev. 2.5%).

Honda Motor (7267 JT) - Co. is reportedly aiming to cut over USD 9bln in costs over the next 4 years and has instructed suppliers to reduce their prices, Reuters reports. (Reuters)

South Korean Inflation - CPI (Aug YY) 3.1% vs. Exp. 3.2% (Prev. 2.8%); MM 0.2% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. -0.2%).

Taiwan-US Investment - Taiwan's Economy Minister says companies are planning another USD 20bln of investments in the US, driven by demand for AI applications. (Reuters)

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.81% at 6,368, Dax 40 -1.14% at 25,958, FTSE 100 -0.32% at 10,789, CAC 40 -0.39% at 8,302, FTSE MIB -1.33% at 51,915, IBEX 35 -0.79% at 19,816, PSI +0.44% at 9,478, SMI +0.34% at 14,335, AEX -0.35% at 1,102

Shell (SHEL LN) - Co. says it will take full ownership of Tri Star Energy, buying the remaining 67% stake from Parman Corp. (Shell)

UK Growth - BCC expects the economy to expand by 1.0% in 2026 (prev. 0.9%), however business investment is to fall by 0.2% (prev. 2.2%). Inflation is to peak at 3.6% in 2026, driven by higher energy costs and food prices due to a drought. (BCC)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Barclays (BARC LN) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Bunzl (BNZL LN) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Societe Generale

DCC (DCC LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

InterContinental Hotels (IHG LN) upgraded to Buy from hold at UBS

Mitie Group (MTO LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

Natwest (NWG LN) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Pearson (PSON LN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

Reckitt Benckiser (RKT LN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

GEA Group (G1A GY) - Shareholder is reportedly offering 5mln shares. (Newswires)

German-China trade - Germany is planning to agree on a package of measures to counter unfair Chinese trade practices, with the Finance Minister stating that a more critical view of China from German manufacturers has encouraged the Chancellor to take a tougher line. (Bloomberg)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Evotec (EVT GY) - Co. announces a research collaboration with Plectonic Biotech to explore a novel immunotherapy approach for solid tumours. (EQS)

BROKER MOVES

Deutsche Bank (DBK GY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, stating that the Co. is entering an era of higher profitability, driven by improving revenue momentum and positive operating leverage.

Airbus (AIR FP) - Co. says All Nippon Airways (9202 JT) has selected the Co. for the new flight training programme. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Eutelsat (ETL FP) initiated with Hold at Berenberg

L'Oreal (OR FP) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

Societe Generale (GLE FP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, citing cautiousness on profitability as investment spend in global markets could pressure operating leverage and leave the company's cost-to-income ratio around 200 basis points higher than consensus by 2029.

Bper Banca (BPE IM) - Co. announces the launch of its EUR 750mln share buyback programme. (Bper Banca)

Euro Stoxx 50 Reshuffle - Nokia (NOKIA FH) and Engie (ENGI FP) are to join Euro Stoxx 50, replacing Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) and Wolters Kluwer (WKL NA); effective September 21st. (STOXX)

Lottomatica (LTMC IM), Cirsa (CIRSA SM) - The two Cos have agreed in an all-share merger. Cirsa is to be absorbed by Lottomatica. Cirsa shareholders will get 0.668 new Lottomatica shares for each Cirsa share held. Lottomatica shareholders to own 67.5% of the combined group. (Lottomatica)

Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP IM) - Co. does not expect its buyout offer for BMPS (BMPS IM) to be hampered by defence bids or by clarifications by Consob, Reuters reports citing sources. (Reuters)

Italian Autos, Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - New Car Registrations (Aug YY) 3.2% (prev. 3.9%); Stellantis new car registrations 6.2%.

Iveco (IVG IM) - Tata Motors (TMPV IN) has secured all prior regulatory approvals required for its proposed acquisition of Iveco. (Economic Times)

BROKER MOVES

ING Groep (INGA NA) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Nestle (NESN SW) - Co. has agreed to divest its Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements business to Yellow Wood Partners for USD 1bln. (Nestle)

Novartis (NOVN SW), Aleogen (196170 KS) - Aleogen announces that it has signed an exclusive option and license agreement with Novartis for ALT-B4. Aleogen could receive a total of USD 3.22bln in payments if all options are exercised and all milestone payments for each stage of development and commercialisation are fulfilled. (Asiae)

Roche (ROP SW), Simcere Pharmaceutical (2096 HK) - Roche has entered into a licensing deal for the development of SIM0660. Roche is to pay USD 75mln upfront with Simcere eligible for up to USD 1.455bln in milestone payments. (Simcere)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Maersk (MAERSKB DC) - Co. has signed a deal to install wind sails on its container ships to help cut fuel consumption and comply with tougher environmental regulations. (FT)

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Co. signs a contract to expand the traffic corridor in Del Mar, California, worth SEK 530mln. (Skanska)

BROKER MOVES

Getinge (GETIB SS) initiated with Neutral at UBS

Hexagon (HEXAB SS) reinitiated with Neutral at BNP Paribas

CLOSES: SPX -0.71% at 7,632, NDX -1.29% at 29,077, DJI -0.79% at 52,772, RUT -1.23% at 2,920

SECTORS: Consumer discretionary -1.89%, Industrials -1.39%, Materials -1.36%, Technology -1%, Financials -0.88%, Communication services -0.53%, Real estate flat, Consumer staples +0.23%, Health +0.67%, Utilities +0.85%, Energy +1.54%

Dell Technologies (DELL) - Dell shares rose 9.5% in extended US trading after a quarterly beat expectations, and it sharply raised its FY outlook, driven by surging demand for AI-optimised servers and broader data centre infrastructure. It reported Q2 adj. EPS of 7.04 (exp. 4.92), Q2 revenue of USD 47.0bln (exp. 44.51bln). AI-optimised server revenue was USD 16.4bln, AI orders USD 60.9bln, and ending AI backlog USD 95bln. Over the past 12 months, Dell booked more than USD 130bln of AI server orders. Infrastructure Solutions Group revenue +89% Y/Y to USD 31.78bln, traditional servers and networking +122% Y/Y to USD 10.53bln, storage +26% Y/Y to USD 4.85bln, Client Solutions Group revenue +20% Y/Y to USD 15.03bln. CFO said AI momentum accelerated, with modernisation efforts driving operating leverage and faster earnings growth than revenue. Sees Q3 adj. EPS 6.50 (exp. 4.57), Q3 revenue at USD 49bln (exp. 41.36bln). Raises FY27 adj. EPS view to 25.50 at the midpoint (exp. 18.82; prev. saw 17.90), and raises FY27 revenue to USD 192bln at the midpoint (exp. 173.33bln; prev. saw 167bln), and now sees FY27 AI-optimised server sales of USD 74bln.

Nvidia (NVDA), Hugging Face - Nvidia is in advanced talks to acquire AI startup Hugging Face for about USD 14bln, with an agreement potentially reached as soon as this week, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. The deal, valued at USD 12.9bln plus a USD 1bln employee retention package, is not yet final. Nvidia is already a Hugging Face backer alongside Alphabet’s Google (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Intel (INTC) and Salesforce (CRM).

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) - Palo Alto Networks initially rose after beating quarterly expectations and issuing strong guidance, but fell later in extended trading, with reports citing an already sharp YTD rally. Q4 adj. EPS 1.02 (exp. 0.98), Q4 revenue USD 3.41bln (exp. 3.35bln). Added nearly USD 1bln of net new NGS ARR in the quarter. CEO said accelerating AI-related cyber threats are pushing security higher on CIO priority lists, and should provide a durable long-term growth tailwind. It targets USD 20bln of NGS ARR by FY30. It also acquired Console, an AI-native platform designed to add agentic capabilities for analysing and resolving enterprise security alerts and issues at machine speed; terms were not disclosed. Sees Q1 adj. EPS between 0.96-0.98 (exp. 0.94), Q1 revenue between USD 3.30-3.31bln (exp. 3.22bln). Sees FY27 adj. EPS between 4.16-4.19 (exp. 4.11), and sees FY27 revenue between USD 14.1-14.2bln (exp. 13.84bln).