Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 7th January 2026

APAC stocks traded somewhat mixed as momentum began to wane despite the fresh record levels on Wall Street. ASX 200 marginally gained amid strength in tech and defensives, while participants also digested monthly inflation data, which printed softer-than-expected but remained sticky. Nikkei 225 lagged amid Japan's frictions with China after the latter-imposed export controls on dual-use items to Japan. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp retreated with the Hong Kong benchmark pressured by losses in energy names and tech stocks following a decline in oil prices, and with platform names pressured by China announcing management measures for online platforms. Meanwhile, the mainland bourses kept afloat for most of the session but eventually faltered as the mood deteriorated and were also not helped by a substantial net liquidity drain of around CNY 500bln in the PBoC's open market operations.

UMC (2303 TT) - Dec (TWD): Revenue 19.3bln (prev. 19.0bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.17% at 5,934, Dax 40 +0.11% at 24,897, FTSE 100 +1.18% at 10,123, CAC 40 +0.32% at 8,237, FTSE MIB -0.20% at 45,753, IBEX 35 +0.19% at 17,647, PSI +0.53% at 8,514, SMI +0.71% at 13,341, AEX +0.66% at 992.

SECTORS: Healthcare 2.97%, Materials 1.34%, Utilities 1.10%, IT 0.53%, Consumer Stpl 0.35%, Industrials 0.31%, Consumer Disc 0.29%, Telecoms 0.17%, Energy -0.37%, Financials -0.37%

Shell (SHEL LN) - Co. inks deal for stake in Chevron (CVX) unit’s Angola oil blocks, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Magnum Ice Cream (MICC LN) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies

Siemens (SIE GY) - Siemens and NVIDIA (NVDA) expand their partnership to build the industrial AI operating system. (Siemens)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Co. obtains orders for 414 MW in France, Belgium and Portugal. These projects represent with 78 turbines a total capacity of more than 414 MW. (Nordex)

Thyssenkrupp AG (TKA GY) - Thyssenkrupp could sell its steel division TKSE to Jindal Steel International in phases, with an initial 60% stake followed by the remainder, Reuters reports citing sources. Jindal has conducted due diligence since October. A phased deal could help address about EUR 2.5bln in pension liabilities, the report adds. (Reuters)

BROKER MOVES

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Covivo (COV FP) - Co. creates a joint venture with Blue Owl funds for Thales (HO) sites in Velizy. (Newswires)

Pluxee (PLX FP) - Q1 (EUR): Revenue 308mln (prev. 289mln Y/Y). Confirms guidance. (Pluxee)

Technip Energies (TE FP) – The company was awarded two ‘large’ contracts by BPCL for new units at the Bina and Mumbai refineries in India. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Energy Names - US President Trump posts "I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America". (Truth) Crude benchmarks have held a negative bias following this headline.

Geopols - Senior US official says the issue of US acquisition of Greenland is "not going away", and Trump is eager for a deal despite objections from NATO leaders Trump and his team are discussing a range of options for acquiring Greenland and 'utilising the US military is always an option'. (Newswires)

Leonardo (LDO IM) / Leonardo DRS (DRS) - Leonardo DRS appointed Sally Wallace as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Wallace has been with the company since 2002. (Newswires)

Italian stocks - Italian PM Meloni plans overhaul of Italy's voting system to aid re-election bid, according to FT. (FT)

BROKER MOVES

Alcon (ALC SW) - Co. terminates agreement to acquire STAAR Surgical. (Alcon)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Orsted (ORSTED DC) - Orsted's Sunrise Wind said it will challenge the US' decision to halt construction of its offshore wind project close to New York. This follows a similar move made by its JV Revolution Wind. (Orsted)

BROKER MOVES

CLOSES: SPX +0.62% at 6,945, NDX +0.94% at 25,640, DJI +0.99% at 49,462, RUT +1.37% at 2,583

SECTORS: Materials +2.04%, Health +1.96%, Industrials +1.38%, Consumer Discretionary +0.94%, Technology +0.66%, Real Estate +0.62%, Utilities +0.49%, Financials +0.45%, Consumer Staples +0.13%, Communication Services -0.49%, Energy -2.81%

Meta Platforms (META) - Chinese officials are reviewing Meta’s USD 2bln purchase of AI start-up Manus for potential technology export control violations, FT reports. The Commerce Ministry is assessing whether Manus’s relocation to Singapore and subsequent sale required an export licence. The review is at an early stage and may not lead to formal action, FT adds. (FT)

Nvidia (NVDA) - Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that Chinese demand for the company’s H200 AI processors is quite high, after the US granted approval to sell the chips in China. He said supply chains are active and licensing details with the US government are being finalised. (Newswires)

Ventyx Biosciences (VTYX), Eli Lilly (LLY) - Eli Lilly is in advanced talks to acquire Ventyx Biosciences for more than USD 1bln, WSJ reports. Ventyx develops pills to treat inflammatory diseases, and would add inflammatory and other experimental drugs to Lilly’s pipeline. A deal announcement could come imminently, the report said. (WSJ)