Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 30th September 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks were ultimately mixed following the recent drop in oil prices and upside in long-term US yields, while participants digested a slew of data at month- and quarter-end. ASX 200 rallied with nearly all sectors in the green and real estate leading the advances as softer-than-expected headline monthly CPI data and a wider contraction in building approvals lessened the odds for an RBA November rate hike. Nikkei 225 gapped above the 66,000 level and continued to advance with the index shrugging off disappointing Industrial Production and Retail Sales data, in which the former showed a surprise contraction. KOSPI traded indecisively amid weak data and tensions with North Korea after a DMZ landmine explosion injured South Korean officers, while South Korea's military stated that North Korea's fortification works increased tensions in the Korean peninsula and that it should apologise for its fortification works. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed, with the Hang Seng indecisive and the mainland mildly underpinned following the encouraging Chinese PMI data, in which headline official Manufacturing PMI matched estimates at 50.1, and Non-Manufacturing topped forecasts and returned to expansion territory at 50.2 (exp. 49.3), while RatingDog Manufacturing and Services PMIs were both stronger-than-expected. In addition, the PBoC recently announced support measures including a 25bps cut to the Pledged Supplementary Lending facility rate to 1.50% from 1.75%, while participants look ahead to the National Day holidays and the week-long closure in the mainland beginning tomorrow.

Australian CPI - CPI (Aug YY) 4.0% vs. Exp. 4.1% (Prev. 3.5%); CPI (Aug MM) 0.4% vs. Exp. 0.5% (Prev. 1%).

Chinese NBS PMIs - Manufacturing PMI (Sep) 50.1 vs. Exp. 50.1 (Prev. 49.8); Non-Manufacturing PMI (Sep) 50.2 vs. Exp. 49.3 (Prev. 49.0); General PMI (Sep) 50.7 (Prev. 49.5).

Chinese RatingDog PMIs - Manufacturing PMI (Sep) 52.1 vs. Exp. 51.6 (Prev. 51.5); Services PMI (Sep) 51.6 vs. Exp. 51.1 (Prev. 51.4); Composite PMI (Sep) 52.4 (Prev. 52.1).

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.38% at 6,325, Dax 40 +0.00% at 25,375, FTSE 100 -0.45% at 10,637, CAC 40 -0.53% at 8,036, FTSE MIB +0.09% at 51,805, IBEX 35 -0.42% at 19,518, PSI -0.48% at 9,666, SMI -0.22% at 13,912, AEX +0.36% at 1,120.

FTSE 100

BP (BP/ LN) - Co. appoints Ben Monaghan as senior VP for M&A and business development from early 2027. (Reuters)

Glencore (GLEN LN) - Co. says its Hunter Valley thermal coal project in Australia has gained approval for continued operations, as the state government deemed the economic benefits as outweighing the environmental impacts. (Newswires)

Shell (SHEL LN) - A consortium led by Shell has reached a final investment decision to double the production capacity of its LNG Canada project to 28mln tonnes per year. (Shell)

UK Autos - UK Car Production (Aug YY) 6.1% (Prev. -10.6%); MM 5.7% to 40,872 units. SMMT says recent investments of over GBP 1bln from companies recently is a significant indicator of the sector's long-term prospects, but highlights concerns over the EU's proposed "Made in Europe" provisions. (SMMT)

UK Business Confidence - Lloyds Business Barometer (Sep) +41% (Prev. +53%). Lloyds say that "September's fall in business confidence was driven primarily by a significant decline in economic optimism, with businesses ⁠responding to a combination of higher global energy prices and increased global uncertainty." (Lloyds)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie

DAX

BMW (BMW GY) - BMW will reportedly cut energy use per vehicle by 25% by 2030 as part of its sustainability strategy. (NDTV Profit)

Mercedes-Benz (MBG GY) - US Republican Senator Moreno says talks are ongoing to revise the Chinese vehicle ban bill to prevent restrictions on Mercedes-Benz. (Newswires) The bill would ban companies with over 15% Chinese ownership from selling vehicles in the US. Mercedes-Benz has nearly 20% Chinese ownership

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Co. secures new orders totalling 175 MW across France, Portugal and Spain. (EQS)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

ArcelorMittal (MT NA) - Co.'s Brazilian Head says the Co. is aiming to make a final investment decision on a BRL 5bln expansion of its Pecem steel mill by the end of 2026. The Head adds the project would add a hot-rolled coil production line with annual capacity of 1.5mln tonnes. (Bloomberg)

Commerzbank (CBK GY), UniCredit (UCG IM) - German officials reportedly expect UniCredit to commit to preserving Commerzbank's domestic stock listing and its Frankfurt base, as well as guarantees on jobs, Bloomberg reports. The source added that UniCredit should also commit to expanding Commerzbank's business with small and mid-sized Cos and retaining sufficient capital to continue making key decisions from Germany. (Bloomberg)

EU-China Trade - China warned it would retaliate if the EU adopts broad tariffs on Chinese goods, saying such measures could undermine ongoing trade talks. Beijing criticised proposals for an EU tool modelled on US Section 301, and said discriminatory restrictions would damage mutual trust, disrupt consultations and threaten China-EU trade and supply-chain stability.

EU-UK EV Car Trade - Battery companies, such as BASF (BAS GY) and Umicore, are pushing for the EU to implement post-Brexit rules that would put tariffs on most UK-EU electric car sales, after the introduction of such rules was delayed by three years. (FT)

TomTom (TOM2 NA) - Co. announces the expansion of its collaboration with Microsoft (MSFT), bringing TomTom's location intelligence to AI agents built on Microsoft Fabric and Microsoft Foundry through Microsoft's new IQ Sharing preview. (TomTom)

BROKER MOVES

Generali (G IM) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, highlighting the recent 123% over three years no longer indicates a high enough total shareholder return for a Buy.

SMI

Galderma (GALD SW) - Co. presents new three-year ARCADIA long-term extension data that demonstrates that Nemluvio is well-tolerated and associated with sustained and continuous improvements in skin lesions, itch, sleep disturbance and quality of life in adults and adolescents with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. (Galderma)

Lonza (LONN SW) - Co. nominates Pearl Huang as an independent member of the Board, while Angelica Kohlmann and Christoph Mäder will not stand for re-election at the 2027 AGM. (Lonza)

Roche (ROP SW) - Co. announces that the US FDA has accepted the Co.’s NDA under priority review for fenebrutinib for the treatment of RMS and PPMS. The filing acceptance is based on data from the comprehensive clinical programme, including the Phase III FENhance 1 and 2 RMS studies and the Phase III FENtrepid PPMS study. (Roche)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Lundbeck (LUND DC) - Co. has reportedly shown interest in acquiring Xeris (XERS), Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

Vestas Wind Systems (VWS DC) - Co. announces new orders in Australia for a total of 614 MW. (Vestas)

Zealand Pharma (ZEAL DC) - Co. reports results from its Phase 2 ZUPREME-1 trial evaluating investigational petrelintide. Results show that petrelintide led to mean reductions in body weight from baseline to week 42 of up to 10.7%. (Zealand Pharma)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.17% at 7,671, NDX +0.21% at 30,339, DJI -0.26% at 51,355, RUT -0.35% at 2,808

SECTORS: Energy -0.89%, Materials -0.55%, Consumer staples -0.54%, Financials -0.37%, Health -0.32%, Technology -0.28%, Real estate flat, Consumer discretionary flat, Industrials +0.19%, Communication services +0.4%, Utilities +1.14%.

Apple (AAPL) - Counterpoint Research estimates that Apple will sell about 6mln iPhone Duo units in 2026. The USD 1,999 foldable launches in October. Counterpoint also said iPhone 18 Pro sales in China started strongly, rising 12% vs the iPhone 17 Pro launch, helping Apple to reach a 33% smartphone market share.

Boeing (BA) - Boeing secured a US Navy contract worth more than USD 20bln for full-scale development of the sixth-generation F/A-XX Strike Fighter under the NGAD programme. The award covers multiple test aircraft, with Boeing expected to begin delivering the platform in the 2030s to augment and eventually replace F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers.

Eli Lilly (LLY) - Eli Lilly said Phase 3 TRIUMPH-2 showed retatrutide delivered substantial weight loss and A1C reductions at 80 weeks in adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity or overweight. The 12mg dose produced 20.8% average weight loss and reduced cardiovascular risk markers. Lilly plans an FDA BLA submission in Q1 2027.