Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 3rd June 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks mostly gained as the region took its cue from Wall St, where the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq 100 printed fresh record highs, which has helped regional bourses shrug off the geopolitical escalation, in which the US struck Qeshm Island, and Iran targeted US bases in neighbouring countries. ASX 200 was led by outperformance in materials, mining and resources sectors, but with gains capped as tech, telecoms and defensives lagged, while participants also digested weaker-than-expected GDP data. Nikkei 225 took inspiration from US peers and printed a fresh all-time high after climbing above 68,000 for the first time. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed, with the Hong Kong benchmark dragged lower by profit-taking following recent earnings and mixed fortunes among the key tech stocks, while the mainland found support from the better-than-expected Chinese RatingDog Services PMI data.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +1.17% at 6,106, DAX +0.48% at 25,124, FTSE 100 +0.33% at 10,374, CAC 40 +0.77% at 8,209, AEX +1.26% at 1,049, IBEX 35 +0.48% at 18,272, FTSE MIB +1.61% at 50,579, SMI +0.00% at 13,306, PSI -0.03% at 8,958.

SECTORS: IT 3.86%, Materials 1.67%, Consumer Disc 1.33%, Industrials 1.16%, Financials 0.67%, Energy 0.39%, Utilities 0.08%, Telecoms -0.25%, Consumer Stpl -0.28%, Healthcare -1.55%

FTSE 100

BP (BP/ LN) - Co. held advanced talks about selling its UK North Sea assets to Ithaca Energy in near- GBP 2bn deal, talks failed but BP is still exploring a deal and may pursue a deal with other competitors, according to FT citing sources. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Cranswick (CWK LN) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

DAX

BASF (BAS GY) - Carlyle gets EU conditional approval for EUR 7.7bln acquisition of BASF's automotive coatings and surface treatment businesses. (MLex)

Bayer (BAYN GY) - A Co. representative says they have no plans to spin off Monsanto but states that restructuring could be a viable option. (Reuters)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Air France-KLM (AF FP) - Co.'s CEO says all indications related to jet fuel concerns point that the summer peak with be okay. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Eiffage (FGF FP) - Co. awarded a contract worth over EUR 120mln for Fouju Campus for Campus AI. (Eiffage)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Argenx (ARGX BB) - Co. it to present new Efgartigimod data showing long-term sustained patient benefit in Myositis and Sjogren's Disease at EULAR 2026. (Argenx)

Beauty Names / Beiersdorf (BEI GY) - Ulta (ULTA) shares rose after the retailer beat expectations, lifted its earnings outlook and reported broad-based growth across channels and major categories. Check US section below for details.

EU Data Centres - The EU's AI gigafactory plans stumble due to delays and funding issues, according to reports. (The Next Web)

Inditex (ITX SM) - Q1 2026 (EUR): Sales 8.7bln (exp. 8.71bln), EBIT 1.76bln (exp. 1.755bln), Net Income 1.4bln (exp. 1.4bln), sales between May 1st-June 1st rose 11.5% Y/Y. Co. backs its FY27 view, sees stable gross margin +/- 50bps. Notes that Spring/Summer collections have been very well received by our customers. Sales grew 5.8% to reach €8.7 billion. Sales in constant currency grew 8.8%. In Q2, the Spring/Summer collection continued to be "very well" received by our customers. (Inditex)

Prosus (PRX NA), Delivery Hero (DHER GY) - The European Commission is planning to extend Prosus' deadline to October 11th to sell down its stake in Delivery Hero, a condition imposed as part of Prosus' acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway.com. (Bloomberg)

Voestalpine (VOE AV) - FY 2026 (EUR): Revenue 15.1bln (exp. 15.02bln), Net Profit 424mln (exp. 379.4mln), EBIT 724mln (exp. 690mln), EBITDA 1.5bln (guided 1.4-1.55bln), EBIT 724mln (exp. 690mln), raises dividend to 0.75/shr (prev. 0.60/shr), guides 2026/27 EBITDA between 1.6-1.85bln. (Voestalpine)

Webuild (WBD IM) - Co. has been awarded a EUR 876mln contract to build a river tunnel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Webuild)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Geberit (GEBN SW) - Co. announces to start a new share buyback of up to CHF 300mln, which is to start almost immediately and to be carried out over 2 years maximum. (Geberit)

Partners Group (PGHN SW) - Co. is reportedly capping withdrawals to 5% of NAV per quarter at one of its private equity funds due a rising redemption pressure. (Bloomberg)

Roche (ROP SW) - Co. announces that its 2027 pipeline catalysts include potentially underappreciated DLBCL upside. Its Phase 3 SkyGlow trial is described as a significant multi-billion-dollar opportunity if positive and it is not yet fully captured by consensus. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Maersk (MAERSKB DC) - Co.'s CCO says current measures to avoid the Strait of Hormuz are creating severe economic pressure. Direct Gulf trades and other routes face higher coast from rerouting and rising fuel, with incremental expenses already exceeding USD 500mln per month. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.13% at 7,610, NDX +0.48% at 30,661, DJI +0.45% at 51,313, RUT +0.90% at 2,932.

SECTORS: Utilities +1.93%, Materials +1.16%, Industrials +1.00%, Energy +0.99%, Technology +0.92%, Real Estate +0.42%, Financials +0.04%, Consumer Staples -0.10%, Consumer Discretionary -0.71%, Health -0.99%, Communication Services -2.61%

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) - Shares gave up gains of around 10% in extended trading, ending afterhours with losses of around 3%. Q3 adj. EPS 0.85 (exp. 0.79), Q3 revenue USD 3.00bln (exp. 2.94bln). RPO +36% Y/Y to USD 18.4bln, including USD 1.8bln from CyberArk and Chronosphere, while Next-Generation Security ARR grew 60% Y/Y to USD 8.1bln, including USD 1.6bln from CyberArk and Chronosphere. Management said Q3 was fuelled by organic bookings momentum, strong interest in its agentic security offering, a USD 80mln deal with a US power producer, and next-generation firewall bookings up 40% Y/Y. CEO said customers are turning to Palo Alto Networks to secure AI deployments at scale, with AI advancements increasing urgency around cybersecurity. Sees Q4 adj. EPS between 0.96-0.98 (exp. 0.94), Q4 revenue between USD 3.345-3.355bln (exp. 3.28bln), Q4 RPO between USD 20.9-21.0bln and Q4 Next-Generation Security ARR between USD 8.90-8.95bln. Raised FY26 guidance, sees adj. EPS between 3.77-3.79 (exp. 3.69; prev. saw 3.65-3.70), and revenue between USD 11.415-11.425bln (exp. 11.295bln; prev. saw 11.28-11.31bln). (Palo Alto)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) - Ulta shares rose after the retailer beat expectations, lifted its earnings outlook and reported broad-based growth across channels and major categories. Q1 EPS 7.74 (exp. 6.91), Q1 revenue USD 3.16bln (exp. 3.12bln). Comparable sales +5.3%. CEO said FY26 was off to a strong start, though noted an uncertain macroeconomic landscape. Raised FY26 guidance: sees EPS between 28.36-28.80 (exp. 28.61), and maintained its FY26 revenue growth view 6-7%, implying USD 13.14-13.26bln (exp. 13.24bln); FY SSS growth between 2.5-3.5%, and capex between USD 400-450mln. (Ulta Beauty)