Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 9th January 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks followed suit to the mixed performance on Wall Street with the regional bourses predominantly in the green, albeit with traders bracing for the US Non-Farm Payrolls report and a potential Supreme Court's ruling on tariffs. ASX 200 was ultimately flat as strength in energy and consumer stocks was offset by losses in financials, tech and mining, while Rio Tinto shares fell by more than 6% after reports that the Co. and Glencore revived merger talks. Nikkei 225 outperformed following the stronger-than-expected Household Spending data from Japan, which showed surprise Y/Y growth of 2.9% (exp. -0.9%), while the gains were led by index heavyweight Fast Retailing after it posted higher profits and upgraded its guidance. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were indecisive after mixed inflation data from China and the substantial weekly liquidity drain by the PBoC, while there was a mixed reaction in tech stocks following reports that China is to approve some NVIDIA (NVDA) H200 purchases as soon as this quarter.

Chinese Inflation - Chinese Inflation Rate MoM (Dec) M/M 0.2% vs. Exp. 0.0% (Prev. -0.1%); Inflation Rate YoY (Dec) Y/Y 0.8% vs. Exp. 0.9% (Prev. 0.7%); PPI YoY (Dec) Y/Y -1.9% vs. Exp. -2% (Prev. -2.2%)

LG Electronics (066570 KS) - 2025 oper. profit fell 27.5% Y/Y to KRW 1.47tln, rev. rose 1.7% to KRW 89.2tln, according to Yonhap. (Yonhap)

TSMC (2330 TT) - December (TWD) rev. 335.0bln (prev. 343.6bln M/M), 2025 rev. rose 32% Y/Y to 3.81tln. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.33% at 5,904, Dax 40 +0.01% at 25,126, FTSE 100 -0.04% at 10,045, CAC 40 +0.12% at 8,243, FTSE MIB +0.25% at 45,672, IBEX 35 +0.33% at 17,655, PSI +0.09% at 8,487, SMI +0.10% at 13,337, AEX -1.44% at 965

SECTORS: Telecoms 1.10%, Consumer Disc 0.73%, Financials 0.71%, Consumer Stpl 0.65%, Healthcare 0.14%, Utilities -0.09%, Materials -0.58%, Industrials -0.93%, Energy -1.45%, IT -2.84%

FTSE 100

Antofagasta (ANTO LN) - US President Trump and Congress move to overturn Biden-era Minnesota mining ban, boosting Antofagasta's twin metals project. (Newswires)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) / Glencore (GLEN LN) - Rio Tinto and Glencore resume talks on a mining megadeal, while Glencore confirmed it is in preliminary talks with Rio Tinto about a possible combination, but cannot confirm a deal will be agreed. Expectation is that any merger would be affected via acquisition of Glencore by Rio Tinto. Deal would create a mining behemoth with an enterprise value of more than USD 260bln. Under UK takeover rules, Rio Tinto must decide by 5th February, 17:00 GMT. This new round of talks follows on from failed attempts of a tie-up in 2025. (Newswires/FT) Rio Tinto's shares fell 6.3% in Australian trade; Glencore indicated higher by 2%

UK Jobs - Insolvency Service data suggests that the number of potential redundancies have risen to 33,392 (w/e Dec 14); the firm highlights that this is the largest since 2023. (Bloomberg)

UK Military Spending - The UK’s Ministry of Defence faces a GBP 28bln funding shortfall over the next four years despite pledges to raise spending, Britain’s top military chief warned. Military leaders are preparing for cuts as tensions with Russia rise, according to an internal assessment cited by Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Aviva (AV/ LN) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Autotrade (AUTO LN) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight

Rightmove (RMV LN) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Marks and Spencer (MKS LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

TeamViewer (TMV GY) - FY25 (EUR): Revenue 767mln, +5% Y/Y. Notes that the Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance for FY 2025 of “around 44%” remains unchanged. (TeamViewer)

BROKER MOVES

BMW (BMW GY) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays Shares -1.7% in pre-market trade

Porsche (P911 GY) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays Shares -0.4% in pre-market trade

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Ubisoft (UBI FP) - Ubisoft appoints Valentine Piedelievre-Eman as Chief Communications Officer. (Ubisoft)

BROKER MOVES

BNP Paribas (BNP FP) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan; PT EUR 102/shr (prev. EUR 89/shr)

L'Oreal (OR FP) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS

Societe Generale (GLE FP) downgraded to Reduce from Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux

Sartorius Stedim Biotech (DIM FP) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

PAN EUROPE

Repsol (REP SM) - Co. to seek US license to export Venezuelan oil, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Tecan (TECN SW) - FY (CHF): Sales 882.5mln (exp. 886.7mln), Order Entry +3.8% Y/Y. “Looking ahead to 2026, we expect end markets to recover gradually, with steady improvement in the broader environment but no full normalization yet anticipated”. (Tecan)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Adecco (ADEN SW) downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies

SCANDINAVIA

Clas Ohlson (CLASB SS) - December (SEK): Sales 1.67bln, +5% Y/Y. (Clas Ohlson)

Kemira (KEMIRA FN) - Co. acquires Ohio-based Co. AquaBlue for just under USD 10mln. The acquisition is part of Kemira to strengthen its presence in North America. (Kemira)

BROKER MOVES

Avanza (AZA SS) initiated with Buy at Goldman Sachs

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) initiated with an Outperform at CICC

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.01% at 6,921, NDX -0.57% at 25,507, DJI +0.55% at 49,266, RUT +1.11% at 2,604

SECTORS: Energy +3.20%, Consumer Staples +2.26%, Consumer Discretionary +1.72%, Materials +1.38%, Real Estate +0.79%, Industrials +0.78%, Communication Services +0.59%, Financials +0.57%, Utilities +0.32%, Health -0.91%, Technology -1.54%

General Motors - General Motors shares fell in extended trading after it disclosed about USD 6bln in Q4 charges tied mainly to North American EV operations, following USD 1.6bln in Q3 2025. GM cited weaker EV demand, cut capacity, shifted its Orion plant, sold its Ultium Cells LLC Lansing stake to LG Energy Solution, and flagged smaller 2026 charges. (Newswires)

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Paramount (PSKY), Netflix (NFLX) - Top Warner Bros. Discovery executives may reopen talks with Paramount if Paramount raises its bid, Semafor reports. Paramount leaders see WBD’s stance as insulting despite attempts to improve offers and view paying more as bidding against themselves. Since WBD rejected Paramount’s bid more than a month ago, there have been no substantive negotiations, only tit-for-tat public letters to shareholders. (Semafor)

US Energy - US President Trump said companies will spend at least USD 100bln in Venezuela and he is meeting with oil executives on Friday. (Newswires)