Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 8th July 2026

Asia-Pac stocks traded mixed, with Chinese indices the only region in the green amid multiple IPOs and strength in China's tech space. Sentiment from the US session carried over in the Asia-Pac session, as energy prices surged amid the re-escalation of US-Iran tensions. ASX 200 continued to be weighed on by metals, with the Metals & Mining sector the worst performer, with Materials followed. Energy topped the sector pile Nikkei 225 started on the softer side, briefly returned to the unchanged mark before returning to the downside. KOSPI traded choppy, as the initial weakness briefly reversed to print modest gains. However, weakness returned as the session continued, resulting in the Korea Exchange activating the sidecar on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ. As a result, the KOSPI extended its losses from June peak to 20%, indicating a bear market. Shanghai Comp. and Hang Seng. were the only indices printing gains, with outperformance in the Hang Seng following strength in tech names. The strength can be attributed to two reports: 1) From Reuters, DeepSeek developing its own chip to power AI systems, and 2) from the Information, Zhiphu considering designing its own AI chip.

BHP (BHP AT) - Australian Labour Unions announced that it will conduct an eight-hour strike at BHP's Port Hedland iron ore export facility, demanding wage increases and better working conditions. Strike to begin on 16th July 2026. Negotiations are reportedly ongoing. (Nikkei)

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. to unveil a Galaxy Z Fold 8 at its Galaxy Unpacked event on July 22nd. (Bloomberg)

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -1.24% at 6,319, DAX -1.27% at 25,489, FTSE 100 +0.13% at 10,666, CAC 40 -0.51% at 8,436, AEX -0.32% at 1,079, IBEX 35 -0.22% at 19,640, FTSE MIB -0.95% at 52,455, SMI +0.41% at 14,360, PSI +0.35% at 9,249,

SECTORS: Consumer Stpl 2.11%, Energy 1.83%, Healthcare 1.23%, Consumer Disc 1.03%, Utilities 0.23%, Financials -0.01%, IT -0.01%, Telecoms -0.01%, Materials -0.91%, Industrials -2.66%

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) - Sino Biopharmaceutical enters exclusive licence agreement with AstraZeneca for TQC3721. Sino will allow AstraZeneca an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialise TQC3721 outside China. Eligible for USD 200mln upfront, with milestones totalling up to USD 1.9bln. (Sino Biopharmaceutical)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Co. will not take over as the operator of Sovereign Metals' Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project in Malawi. Rio's exclusive marketing rights for 40% of production has lapsed. (Rio Tinto)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Man (EMG LN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Deutsche Lufthansa (LHA GY) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citi

Airbus (AIR FP) - Co. and MTU Aero Engines (MTX GY) to create a JV to develop a fully electric hydrogen fuel cell engine. (Airbus)

EssilorLuxottica (EL FP) , Meta (META) - Meta has been advancing a new hardware line of smart glasses that would continuously record audio, the FT reports. (FT)

French Election - French RN Leader Le Pen says she was happy the court gave the French people freedom to vote; will appeal court's decision; will run for President in 2027 without electronic bracelet. (Newswires)

Kering (KER FP), L'Oreal (OR FP) - Coty (COTY) announces that it has entered into an agreement to transition the Gucci beauty license back to Kering for a consideration of around USD 400mln. (Coty)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

GTT (GTT FP) - Co. has been awarded an order from Jiangnan for tank design of 4 LNG carriers. (GTT)

Vallourec (VK FP) - Co. has confirmed its intention to return close to EUR 650mln to shareholders in 2026. (Vallourec)

BROKER MOVES

Forvia (EO FP) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi

Arcadis (ARCAD NA) - Co. has been selected by UK Government Commercial Agency, to deliver critical professional services across 9 Lots of the new Construction Professional Services 2 Frameworks. (Arcadis)

Poste Italiane (PST IM) - Co. has reportedly approved a EUR 372mln capital increase, with the goal of raising funds to acquire Telecom Italia (TIT IM). (Il Messaggero)

Geopols - US CENTOM announced that it completed a new round of offensive strikes, hitting over 80 targets with precision munitions. CENTCOM added that forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable when the agreement is not adhered to or obeyed. (Newswires)

Repsol (REP SM) - Q2 Refining Margin USD 14, +28.4% Q/Q. (Repsol)

Santander (SAN SM) - Co. has reportedly overhauled its Asia Pacific business under new management by removing its top bank in Beijing, tightening employee oversight and scrapping perks such as free breakfasts, the FT reports. (FT)

UCB (UCB BB) - Co. presents latest data from its targeted generalized myasthenia gravis treatment portfolio at International Congress on Neuromuscular Diseases 2026. (UCB)

UniCredit (UCG IM), Commerzbank (CBK GY) - UniCredit is set to publish the final details of its takeover bid for Commerzbank. Markets will be provided details on how many Commerzbank shareholders agreed to sell their stake to the Italian bank, with focus on whether they can secure a majority stake. The key level to watch is the 75% control threshold, which is needed for full control under German law.

BROKER MOVES

Eni (ENI IM) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Santander

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Belimo (BEAN SW) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Kempen

Equinor (EQNR NO), TechnipFMC (FTI) - TechnipFMC was awarded multiple subsea contracts by Equinor for the Omega Sor, Brime, Tyrihans Nord and TWIN projects offshore Norway. The work covers subsea production systems, controls and rigid pipe installation. The contracts are valued at USD 250mln-500mln and were included in Q2 2026 inbound orders. (TechnipFMC)

Telenor (TEL NO) - Co. acquires a controlling stake in Swedish broadband provider Bahnhof; valued at SEK 6.1bln. (Telenor)

BROKER MOVES

Atlas Copco (ATCOB SS) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS

Handelsbanken (SHBA SS) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Nordea

SEB (SEBA SS) upgraded to Buy from Hold by Nordea

Yara (YAR NO) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Danske Bank

CLOSES: SPX -0.48% at 7,501, NDX -1.77% at 29,173, DJI -0.25% at 52,925, RUT -0.91% at 2,982.

SECTORS: Energy +3.01%, Health +1.55%, Real Estate +1.50%, Consumer Staples +0.99%, Utilities +0.91%, Communication Services +0.60%, Financials -0.17%, Consumer Discretionary -0.44%, Materials -0.98%, Technology -1.62%, Industrials -1.67%.

Boeing (BA) / Airliners - A Pakistani Boeing plane flying to Karachi has crashed, with sources stating the plane was mistakenly targeted by the US, IRIB reports. (IRIB)

Estee Lauder (EL) - Estee Lauder expects to record cumulative restructuring and other charges of about USD 1.748bln before tax under its Profit Recovery and Growth Plan. The charges relate to initiatives approved from the restructuring programme’s inception through 30th June, with the programme expected to be substantially completed by the end of FY27.

ExxonMobil (XOM) - Exxon said Q2 results will be affected by market factors, planned activities, seasonal demand patterns and Middle East-related disruptions. It expects higher liquids prices to lift earnings by USD 3.5-3.9bln versus Q1, while gas prices are expected to have an impact of USD -0.2bln to USD 0.2bln.

Nvidia (NVDA), Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Samsung has begun mass production of its PM1763 enterprise solid-state drive for use in Nvidia's upcoming Vera Rubin platform. The drive, powered by Samsung's latest V-NAND flash and a 4-nanometer controller, delivers read and write speeds more than twice those of its predecessor and features liquid cooling.