Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 6th July 2026

ASIA

Asia-Pac stocks initially started the session with broad gains but reversed as the session continued, with a busy week ahead, which includes Samsung Electronics' Q2 earnings and SK Hynix's US listing. ASX 200 managed to limit its downside, and only posted modest losses, as upside in Energy and Health Care broadly offset the downside seen in Consumer Staples and Mining names. Further on the mining topic, Genesis Minerals made a AUD 5.6bln bid for Vault Minerals, hijacking a deal previously made with Regis Resources. Nikkei 225 was softer as it continued to pull back from its ATH of 72,832. Kioxia was one of the big underperformers, after the Co. began shipping sample next-gen semiconductor products. KOSPI was under significant pressure, despite initially printing gains of as much as 2.9%, with Samsung set to report Q2 figures on Tuesday; operating profit expected to print at KRW 86tln. However, a miss would be detrimental to tech valuations, since doubts have crept in over the scale and durability of AI demand and capex. Shanghai Comp. traded either side of the unchanged mark while the Hang Seng posted decent gains. Alibaba found some comfort after a US federal judge ordered the Pentagon to give the Co. a reprieve from a lobbying ban tied to the Pentagon's curbs on Chinese companies.

Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) - Samsung is projected to report Q2 operating profit of KRW 84.3tln on Tuesday, which would be an 18-fold jump Y/Y; revenue is forecast to rise 127% to a record KRW 169tln, according to analyst estimates, Bloomberg reports, as DRAM prices climbed over 40% in the quarter, and NAND prices by over 50%. (Bloomberg)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: FTSE 100 +0.3%, CAC 40 +0.4%, DAX 40 +0.8%, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.8%, AEX +0.9%

SECTORS: IT 2.40%, Utilities 1.72%, Industrials 1.41%, Materials 0.98%, Financials 0.50%, Telecoms 0.26%, Energy 0.12%, Consumer Disc -0.06%, Consumer Stpl -0.21%, Healthcare -0.21%

FTSE 100

Babcock (BAB LN) - Co. appoints Harry Holt as Director and CEO; effective July 31st. (Babcock)

Next (NXT LN) - Co. is reportedly mulling a takeover of Harvey Nichols, Sky News reports. Plans to buy the co. at an early stage, with an auction of the business only having recently been kicked-off. (Sky News)

UK Politics - Andy Burnham announces that he will keep the triple lock, The Times' Swinford reports. (The Times)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Antofagasta (ANTO LN) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

GSK (GSK LN) upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC

Close Brother (CBG LN) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

DAX

Continental (CON GY) - Continental AG signed an agreement to sell its ContiTech group sector to Lone Star Funds. The agreed enterprise value amounts to EUR 4bln, plus potential performance-based components of up to EUR 250mln in subsequent years. Continental expects cash proceeds of about EUR 3.1bln, and plans to distribute around EUR 2.5bln to shareholders after completion. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, in particular clearance from the relevant antitrust authorities, as well as other standard closing conditions, and could be completed by the end of 2026. (Continental) Shares +2.3% in pre-market trade

Delivery Hero (DHER GY), Uber Technologies (UBER) - Uber has paused planned food delivery expansion in five of seven targeted European countries (including Austria, Norway and Greece), five months after announcing a push targeting USD 1bln in additional gross bookings over three years, FT reports. The company continues pursuing its EUR 10bln bid for Delivery Hero, which was rejected in May, with Prosus (PRX NA) considering expanding its stake in a move that could complicate the acquisition. (FT)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Merck (MRK GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC Shares -2.5% in pre-market trade

CAC

Thales (HO FP) - Co. to reportedly buy Exail Technologies (EXA FP) for EUR 134/shr. Elsewhere, Thales specifies the effects of the termination of the F126 program and increases several of its objectives for 2026. Plans to record an exceptional charge related to the end of the F126 program. In connection with the termination of this program, the Group plans to record an exceptional and mostly non-cash charge of about EUR 450mln in the first half of 2026. Given its exceptional nature, this charge will have no effect on the Group’s Adjusted EBIT and Adjusted Net Income. It will impact the Net Income, Group Share, by about EUR 350mln in the Group’s first-half 2026 consolidated statements. This charge will not have any material impact on the Group’s free operating cash flow. Upgrades outlook: Sees a book-to-bill ratio now expected above 1.10 (prev. "above" 1.0). Organic sales growth of between +6% and +7%. (Thales)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SES (SESG FP) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

Societe Generale (GLE FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux

PAN EUROPE

Adyen (ADYEN NA) - Co. has partnered with Xiaomi, to process payments for the brand’s consumer electronics business unit across 18 markets, including Singapore, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Mexico, and the European Union. (Adyen)

EU Energy - Six institutional investors, including Swedbank Robur Fonder, Sarasin & Partners and French pension fund Ircantec, joined an open letter urging the EU to maintain its opposition to Arctic oil and gas expansion. The EU is set to present its revised Arctic policy over the summer, amid pressure from Norway to remove the existing drilling ban. (Bloomberg)

ING (INGA NA) - ING accelerates growth in Private Banking with strategic investment in leading Spanish wealth manager Singular Bank. (ING)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Novartis (NOVN SW) - Co. agrees to acquire Myricx Bio, advancing next-generation antibody-drug conjugate innovation with a novel NMTi payload, expanding options for cancer patients. (Novartis)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

DKSH (DKSH SW) - Co. entered a strategic partnership with Lilly (LLY) to sell, promote and distribute Lilly’s pharmaceutical products in Hong Kong and Macau. (DKSH)

BROKER MOVES

Roche (ROG SW) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

SCANDINAVIA

EQT (EQT SS) - Co. to acquire Orikan; terms undisclosed. (EQT)

Wihlborgs Fastigheter (WIHL SS) - H1 2026 (SEK): Op. Supply 1.66mln (prev. 1.544mln Y/Y), EPS 2.76 (prev. 2.87 Y/Y). (Wihlborgs Fastigheter)

BROKER MOVES

Castellum (CAST SS) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays

US

Alibaba (BABA) - A federal judge ordered the Pentagon to grant Alibaba a temporary reprieve from lobbying restrictions tied to the DoD's 1260H blacklist, while she considers the constitutionality of the measure. The restriction caused all of Alibaba's registered lobbyists to withdraw their registrations after a new law barred Defence Department contractors from representing Pentagon-blacklisted entities, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) - Japanese self-driving startup Turing raised USD 79mln in an equity and debt extension to its Series A round, valuing the company at approximately USD 600mln, and added AMD Ventures as a backer, Bloomberg reports. Turing has begun handling roughly 10% of its AI training with AMD GPUs to diversify from Nvidia (NVDA) and reduce costs, targeting a consumer and robotaxi commercial launch as early as 2028. (Bloomberg)

Honeywell (HON) - Honeywell spin-off Solstice Advanced Materials is said to be in talks to merge with Element Solutions which could create a USD 27bln chemicals giant, FT reports Discussions are ongoing with a formal agreement not reached, but a deal could come together as soon as this week, sources told the FT. (FT)