Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 7th August 2026

APAC stocks ultimately traded mixed following the weak lead from Wall Street, while participants also digested a busy slate of earnings and the latest Chinese trade data. ASX 200 was little changed as strength in materials, energy and miners counterbalanced the underperformance in the financials and defensive sectors, while participants also reflected on the somewhat mixed trade data from Australia's largest trading partner. Nikkei 225 declined amid a busy day of earnings and with risk sentiment not helped by disappointing Household Spending data, which showed a surprise contraction, while a government official noted that typhoons, cold weather and more rain led to reduced beverage and dining out expenses. KOSPI retreated with price action initially choppy amid some earnings releases and the mixed performances seen in South Korea's tech heavyweights. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp kept afloat with the Hong Kong benchmark in relatively flat territory, while the mainland outperformed after the latest Chinese trade data, which showed exports topped forecasts, and imports missed with a sharper-than-forecast deceleration, but continued to show double-digit percentage growth.

Alibaba (9988 HK) - Co. is reportedly planning to ask users of the next version of its Qwen AI model for a share of revenue, Reuters reports. The rate is unclear; however, the report highlights that Moonshot's rate is a 30% revenue share. (Reuters)

ByteDance - ByteDance is reportedly training an AI model that could approach the size of Anthropic's Mythos system, the FT reports. ByteDance is in an early stage of training a model with as many as 10tln parameters, the report adds, which is 3x larger than Moonshot's Kimi K3. (FT)

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.54% at 6,512, Dax 40 +0.15% at 26,165, FTSE 100 -0.14% at 10,873, CAC 40 +0.35% at 8,700, FTSE MIB +0.48% at 53,706, IBEX 35 +0.62% at 20,180, PSI +0.52% at 9,224, SMI -0.17% at 14,526, AEX +0.10% at 1,112

HSBC (HSBA LN) - Co. reportedly sold its building in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district in March to Mitsubishi HC Capital (8593 JT) and is currently leasing space there before moving to a new building near Tokyo Station, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Allianz (ALV GY) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 45.6bln (exp. 20.1bln), Operating Profit 4.87bln (exp. 4.58bln), Core Net Profit 2.60bln (exp. 2.89bln), Net Profit 2.60bln (exp. 2.79bln). Confirms its FY26 outlook, on track to achieve FY operating profit of 17.4bln +/- 1bln. CEO: "Insurance costs are rising faster than disposable income, and we take that challenge seriously. Through our investments in AI, risk prevention, and smarter services, we are determined to help more customers protect what matters to them at a price they can afford." (Allianz)

Daimler Truck (DTG GY) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 11.42bln (prev. 10.82bln Y/Y), Adj. EBIT 838mln (exp. 858mln), EPS 0.15 (prev. 0.29 Y/Y), Unit Sales 86,707 (prev. 80,607 Y/Y). Raises its FY26 outlook; sees adj. EBIT between 3.6-4.1bln (prev. guided 3.2-3.7bln), group unit sales between 340k-370k (prev. guided 330k-360k). Plans to launch its second tranche of share buybacks of up to EUR 1.1bln by mid-September. CEO: "Strong results at Trucks North America and an improved outlook for the region, driven by higher unit sales and a lower tariff impact for the remainder of the year, give us the confidence to raise our full-year guidance.” (Daimler Truck)

Munich Re (MUV2 GY) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Net result 2.21bln (prev. 2.09bln Y/Y), Insurance Revenue 14.94bln (prev. 14.78bln Y/Y), Operating Profit 2.80bln (prev. 2.92bln Y/Y). Cuts its FY26 insurance revenue guidance to 62bln (prev. guided 64bln). (Munich Re)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Lanxess (LXS GY) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 1.56bln (exp. 1.55bln), EBITDA pre exceptionals 152mln (prev. 150mln Y/Y), Net income -53mln (prev. -45mln Y/Y). Confirms FY26 EBITDA pre-exceptional guidance. Says the increase in earnings stemmed from improved demand and correspondingly higher sales volumes, and that through price increases, the Co. was largely able to offset the impact of higher raw material and energy costs. (Lanxess)

BROKER MOVES

MTU Aero Engines (MTX GY) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

Euronext (ENX FP) - Reports July equity derivatives volume -36% M/M, +1.8% Y/Y. (Euronext)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Eutelsat (ETL FP) - FY 2025/26 (EUR): Revenue 1.24bln (prev. 1.24bln Y/Y), Net -0.46bln (prev. -1.08bln Y/Y). LEO growth to offset GEO decline in FY 2026-27, supporting slight revenue growth and a stable EBITDA margin. (Eutelsat)

BROKER MOVES

BMPS (BMPS IM) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Net Income 610.2mln (exp. 553.6mln), Revenue 2.06bln (exp. 1.99bln), Net Operating Income 1.06bln (exp. 0.96bln). Says analysis of strategic options continues. Mediobanca integration expected to complete in Q4. (BMPS)

Critical Minerals, Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - The US White House has invited executives from key miners to a meeting on Friday with US President Trump in an event designed to showcase efforts to boost critical minerals development and processing, Bloomberg reports. The source added that there are plans to announce deals and MoUs. (Bloomberg)

Generali (G IM) - H1 2026 (EUR): Operating Profit 4.5bln (exp. 4.38bln), Adj. Net Profit 2.54bln (exp. 2.41bln), Non-lift business undiscounted combined ratio 93.8% (prev. 93.1% Y/Y), Life Net Inflows 8.33bln (prev. 6.35bln Y/Y). Announces a EUR 500mln share buyback programme. (Generali)

Mediobanca (MB IM) - H1 2026 (EUR): Total income 1.95bln (prev. 1.84bln Y/Y), Net Operating Income 1.01bln (prev. 0.95bln Y/Y), PBT 991mln (prev. 927mln Y/Y). Confirms its FY26 guidance. (Mediobanca)

Pkn Orlen (PKN PW) - Q2 2026 (PLN): Revenue 76.5bln (prev. 60.7bln Y/Y), Net income 7.68bln (prev. 1.57bln Y/Y). (Pkn Orlen)

Unipol (UNI IM) - H1 2026 (EUR): Net Profit 1.06bln, +42% Y/Y; Direct Insurance Income c. 9bln, +3.9% Y/Y; Non-life insurance income c. 5bln, +3.6% Y/Y. (Unipol)

BROKER MOVES

Prysmian (PRY IM) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Avolta (AVOL SW) - Co. acquires a 51% majority stake in Penha Duty Free Group, with the transaction providing a contractual pathway to 100% ownership. (EQS)

Mobimo Holding (MOBN SW) - H1 2026 (CHF): EBIT including revaluation 166.4mln (prev. 144.5mln), Profit 126.8mln (prev. 109.7mln Y/Y), Rental income 74.2mln (prev. 72.6mln Y/Y). Says the outlook remains positive and confident to achieve the FY26 operational targets. (Mobimo)

BROKER MOVES

Roche (ROP SW) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

BROKER MOVES

CLOSES: SPX -0.18% at 7,710, NDX -0.39% at 29,373, DJI -0.85% at 53,890, RUT -0.58% at 3,002

SECTORS: Industrials -0.83%, Real Estate -0.83%, Materials -0.79%, Communication Services -0.73%, Utilities -0.63%, Financials -0.37%, Consumer Discretionary -0.37%, Consumer Staples -0.12%, Technology +0.09%, Health +0.14%, Energy +1.59%.

Meta Platforms (META) - Meta was ordered to pay USD 567mln into a New Mexico child-safety fund, bringing total penalties in the case to USD 942mln. A judge deemed its platforms a public nuisance and ordered safeguards including messaging restrictions, limits on nudity, notification curbs and a 90-hour monthly usage cap for under-18s. Meta plans to appeal.

Microchip Tech (MCHP) - Microchip Technology shares rose 8% in extended trading after a Q1 beat, and its outlook topped forecasts, supported by strengthening demand across AI data centres, industrial, automotive and aerospace markets. Q1 EPS 0.76 (exp. 0.69), Q1 revenue USD 1.49bln (exp. 1.46bln). Net sales +38% Y/Y and +13.2% Q/Q to USD 1.485bln, above the high end of guidance, supported by improving demand, continued inventory normalisation and stronger factory utilisation, which drove better operating leverage. CEO said the quarter marked continued progress towards the company’s long-term business model. Sees Q2 adj. EPS between 0.38-0.41 (exp. 0.33), Q2 revenue between USD 1.59-1.61bln (exp. 1.55bln).