Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 5th October 2026

APAC stocks began the week mostly higher in holiday-thinned conditions and following the gains last Friday on Wall St, where stocks were underpinned as Fed rate hike bets were unwound in a knee-jerk dovish reaction to the weak jobs data. ASX 200 eked marginal gains with upside in miners, materials and healthcare helping keep the index afloat, although gains were limited by weakness in utilities and consumer stocks. Nikkei 225 rallied and briefly reclaimed the 70,000 level amid strength in tech stocks, which seemed to also benefit from the holiday closure in South Korea. Hang Seng lagged amid the continued absence of mainland participants and stock connect flows, while automakers were also pressured following reports that the UK is considering imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports amid concerns that Beijing is flooding the market with state-subsidised cars.

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +1.07% at 6,242, Dax 40 +1.13% at 25,222, FTSE 100 +0.32% at 10,462, CAC 40 +0.79% at 7,897, FTSE MIB +0.49% at 50,483, IBEX 35 +0.42% at 19,085, PSI -0.63% at 9,417, SMI +0.28% at 13,661, AEX +1.28% at 1,117

SECTORS: IT 2.93%, Materials 1.66%, Industrials 1.56%, Telecoms 1.27%, Utilities 0.88%, Financials 0.41%, Consumer Stpl 0.14%, Consumer Disc 0.00%, Energy -0.11%, Healthcare -0.95%

BT Group (BT/A LN) - Co. has reportedly reached a deal to acquire TalkTalk's PXC and its consumer broadband operations, with the deal expected to be announced on Monday, Sky News reports. (Sky News)

Tesco (TSCO LN) - Co. is reportedly among the bidders interested in the acquisition of Majestic Wine, Sky News reports. (Sky News)

UK Banks - Sources say that City of London executives are concerned that the UK government may use the Autumn Budget to levy a windfall tax on the profits of domestic banks, Bloomberg reports. The source added that there are concerns that the government believes UK banks haven't done enough to support small businesses and the new tax revenue could be used to lessen business costs. (Bloomberg)

UK-China Trade - The UK is reportedly preparing plans to impose import tariffs on Chinese EVs to meet a key demand from the EU to ensure it remains part of the Made in Europe local-content rules, The Times reports. (The Times)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Burberry (BRBY LN) initiated with Neutral at Goldman Sachs

Bayer (BAYN GY) - Co. plans to invest USD 2.2bln in a new pharmaceutical manufacturing site in the US, which will also create around 600 jobs. Production will start in 2031. (Bayer)

Deutsche Telekom (DTE GY) - Co. backs its 2026 view. For 2030, the Co. aims to increase AI-related revenue outside the US of around EUR 800mln, and sees savings of around EUR 2.5bln by 2030 from AI and automation. (Deutsche Telekom)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Continental (CON GY) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Renault (RNO FP) - Co. CEO tells France Inter radio that they plan to keep investing in France's EV industry in the coming years if the political and social context allows it. (Bloomberg)

Schneider Electric (SU FP) - Co. announces the acquisition of PTC (PTC) for USD 205/shr in an all-cash deal, valuing the deal at USD 23.7bln. The deal is to be closed by Q3'27. (Schneider Electric) Schneider Electric shares are indicated lower by 4.1% on Tradegate

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Hermes (RMS FP) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS

Hermes (RMS FP) initiated with Sell at Goldman Sachs, as the firm continues to see underperformance given the Co.'s slowing growth.

Kering (KER FP) initiated with Neutral at Goldman Sachs, highlighting uncertainty given the macro pressures and competition.

LVMH (MC FP) initiated with Buy at Goldman Sachs, as it sees the Co's fashion and leather division rebounding in 2027.

Societe Generale (GLE FP) downgraded to Reduce from Add at AlphaValue

Akzo Nobel (AKZA NA) - Co. announces the sale of its South East Decorative Paints business to Nippon Paint (4612 JT) for USD 1.35bln. Sale to be completed in mid-2027. (Akzo Nobel) Shares are indicated higher by 1.3% on Tradegate

Eni (ENI IM), Repsol (REP SM) - Cos are reportedly mulling selling a portion of their stake in an offshore Venezuelan gas project to bring in more funds to develop the gas field, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

EU Autos - A study from Transport & Environment shows that EV sales across the EU has reached record volumes in 2026, rising 45% Y/Y, Reuters reports. (Reuters)

Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP IM), BMPS (BMPS IM) - Intesa says they have raised its takeover bid for BMPS, stating that they would pay shareholders a further EUR 800mln in cash if they reject BMPS's counter plan. Following this, Delfin, Intesa's biggest shareholder, has approved the new plan. (Intesa) BMPS's counter plan involves acquiring Banco BPM (BAMI IM) and Banca Generali (BGM IM)

BROKER MOVES

Brunello Cucinelli (BC IM) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

Brunello Cucinelli (BC IM) initiated with Neutral at Goldman Sachs

Moncler (MONC IM) initiated with Buy at Goldman Sachs

Nestle (NESN SW) - India's FSSAI says Nestle's low-fat dairy whitener collected from the Lalit hotel was "unsafe" and "substandard", calling for the sale of the product to be stopped immediately. (X)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Givaudan (GIVN SW) upgraded to Overweight at Equal Weight at Barclays

Richemont (CFR SW) initiated with Buy at Goldman Sachs, highlighting the Co.'s exposure to the "super cycle of jewelry growth".

Swatch (UHR SW) initiated with Sell at Goldman Sachs, stating that the Co.'s commitment to maintaining production capacity despite lower demand has "meaningfully impacted" its inventory levels and margins.

Genmab (GMAB DC) - Co. announces results from Part C of the Phase 1/2 RAINFOL-01 trial evaluating rinatabart sesutecan. Treatment with rinatabart sesutecan 120 mg/m² every three weeks demonstrated a clinically meaningful objective response rate and durable median duration of response in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. (Genmab)

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - The US FDA has informed Novo that the BLA review of denecimig for the treatment of haemophilia A, with or without inhibitors in adults and children, is still ongoing. The FDA has not communicated a new timeline for regulatory action on the BLA. (Novo Nordisk)

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Co. is to construct a new high school in Renton, Washington, for about SEK 1bln. (Skanska)

BROKER MOVES

Neste (NESTE FH) upgraded to Reduce from Sell at AlphaValue

Nokian Renkaat (TYRES FH) downgraded to Hold from Buy at DNB Markets

Skanska (SKAB SS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies

Wartsila (WRT1V FH) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Nordea

CLOSES: SPX +0.73% at 7,723, NDX +1.00% at 30,808, DJI +0.49% at 51,182, RUT +0.94% at 2,833

SECTORS: Health -0.03%, Financials +0.01%, Energy +0.24%, Utilities +0.37%, Real estate +0.38%, Consumer staples +0.16%, Industrials +0.78%, Communication services +0.88%, Materials +0.98%, Technology +1.06%, Consumer discretionary +1.38%.

TSMC (TSM), Intel (INTC) - TSMC and Intel are being discussed as potential partners for Elon Musk’s Terafab ambitions, DigiTimes reports. TSMC is reportedly in talks with Terafab; the report says suppliers see an over 80% chance of a deal.