Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 9th March 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks sold off heavily with global markets rattled after the Iran war entered a second week with no signs of abating and as oil prices surged around 30% intraday on continued disruption, with more producers forced to cut output. ASX 200 slumped at the open with heavy losses across all sectors aside from energy due to the oil price surge. Nikkei 225 suffered intraday losses of more than 4,000 points as manufacturers and exporters suffered from the rising energy costs and shipping disruption. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the broad risk-off mood with sources tempering expectations for a breakthrough in the upcoming Trump/Xi summit, but with the downside in the mainland somewhat cushioned after firmer-than-expected Chinese inflation data.

Chinese data - Chinese Inflation Rate MoM (Feb) M/M 1.0% (Prev. 0.2%); YoY (Feb) Y/Y 1.3% vs. Exp. 0.8% (Prev. 0.2%); PPI YoY (Feb) Y/Y -0.9% vs. Exp. -1.1% (Prev. -1.4%)

Korean stocks - Korea Exchange triggers circuit breakers on KOSPI after index falls 8% with trading halted for 20 minutes, while it activates sidecar on Kosdaq after Kosdaq 150 futures fell 6% with programme trading halted for 5 minutes

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.87% at 5,732, Dax 40 -1.13% at 23,548, FTSE 100 -1.24% at 10,285, CAC 40 -0.65% at 7,993, FTSE MIB -1.02% at 44,152, IBEX 35 -0.99% at 17,074, PSI +0.15% at 8,946, SMI -1.56% at 13,091, AEX -1.52% at 980

SECTORS: Energy 1.68%, Utilities -0.41%, Industrials -0.48%, Telecoms -0.55%, Consumer Stpl -0.56%, Consumer Disc -0.84%, Financials -1.31%, Healthcare -1.58%, Materials -1.85%, IT -2.45%

FTSE 100

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) - Enhertu granted Priority Review in the US as post-neoadjuvant treatment for patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer. If approved, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu has the potential to become a new standard of care in this early breast cancer setting. (AstraZeneca)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

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

Anglo American (AAL LN) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

IAG (IAG LN) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan

DAX

GEA (G1A GY) – FY 2025 (EUR): Adj. EBITDA 907mln (prev. 837.3mln Y/Y), Revenue 5.50bln (prev. 5.42bln Y/Y). Proposed dividend of EUR 1.30/shr (prev. EUR 1.15/shr). For the current fiscal year 2026, GEA expects organic revenue growth of at least 5% as well as further margin improvements. (GEA)

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Volkswagen dealers are opposing the carmaker’s plan to sell Scout Motors SUVs and trucks directly to consumers, with the latest in a series of lawsuits seeking to block the move, WSJ reports. The dispute centres on Volkswagen bypassing dealerships for the new Scout brand, which will offer US-built electric and hybrid vehicles. (WSJ)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Hensoldt (HAG GY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

Lufthansa (LHA GY) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Ipsen (IPN FP) - Ipsen voluntarily withdraws Tazverik (tazemetostat) in follicular lymphoma and epithelioid sarcoma. (Ipsen)

Worldline (WLN FP) - Worldline launches a circa. EUR 108mln reserved capital increase to its strategic investors, representing the first step in its contemplated circa. EUR 500 million share capital increase. (Worldline)

BROKER MOVES

Air France-KLM (AF FP) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays

Hermes (RMS FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC

Kering (KER FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC

PAN EUROPE

Airbus (AIR FP), Rheinmetall (RHM GY) - Airbus Defence and Space is considering a joint bid with Rheinmetall and OHB to build a Starlink-like internet service for Germany’s Bundeswehr under the SATCOM Bw Stage 4 project, according to Bloomberg. Airbus has informed the German Armed Forces Procurement Office that it plans to form a consortium with the two companies. (Bloomberg)

Crop Prices - Palm oil surged as much as 10%, soybean oil rose and wheat neared a two-year peak as the Middle East war increased energy and fertiliser costs and threatened agricultural supplies. Bloomberg said disruption to crude flows boosted demand for crop-based biofuels, while the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz drove up crop nutrient prices. Iran’s low-cost urea and ammonia facilities, which account for about 5% and 11% of global fertiliser trade respectively, face disrupted access, and have already risen about 25% since the war began. (Bloomberg)

Energy Prices - Oil prices surged some 30% at one point to just shy of USD 120/bbl as the continued Iran conflict forces producers to begin cutting output. Crude futures pulled back following FT reports that the G7 is to discuss a joint release of emergency oil reserves in an emergency meeting on Monday. Brent May'26 currently +15% at USD 108/bbl

Telefonica (TEF SM) - The FT reports that the Co. will consider further takeovers of UK broadband providers to strengthen Virgin Media O2. (FT)

BROKER MOVES

Ferrovial (FER SM) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies; analysts see limited upside after the recent re-rating.

Leonardo (LDO IM) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

Voestalpine (VOE AV) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan

SMI

ABB (ABBN SW) - Co. is to invest USD 75mln in India on manufacturing and R&D. (ABB)

Lonza (LONN SW) - Lonza signed an agreement to divest its Capsules & Health Ingredients (CHI) business to Lone Star Funds, for an enterprise value of CHF 2.3bln at closing. The transaction is expected to close in H2 2026. Lonza plans to invest the upfront proceeds into additional organic growth opportunities in line with the One Lonza Strategy, as well as bolt-on acquisitions. CHF 500 million will be returned to shareholders through a share buyback following receipt of proceeds. (Lonza)

Roche (ROG SW) – Genetech provides update on Phase III persevERA study. persevERA Breast Cancer study did not meet the primary objective of a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival, but a numerical improvement was observed. The FDA recently accepted the New Drug Application based on evERA data; Phase III lidERA data will be submitted to the FDA in the coming weeks. Elsewhere, Roche Chair said the company expects its agreement with the US government to keep medicines exempt from current import tariffs, but diagnostics remains exposed and could face renewed duties after 150 days, Reuters reports. Chair said diagnostics generated nearly CHF 14bln of sales in 2025, and that Roche has no plans to split off the division. (Roche / Reuters)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Swatch (UHR SW) upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC

SCANDINAVIA

Maersk (MAERSKB DC) - Saudi's Ports Authority, Mawani, announced the addition of Maersk's new shipping service to Jeddah port, increasing its shipping capacity by 17k standard containers. (Maersk)

BROKER MOVES

Huhtamaki (HUH1V FH) resumed with Buy at Danske Bank

Norsk Hydro (NHY NO) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Danske Bank

Rockwool (ROCKB DC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux

Sectra (SECTB SS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SEB

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

Zealand Pharma (ZEAL DC) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.33% at 6,740, NDX -1.51% at 24,643, DJI -0.95% at 47,502, RUT -2.33% at 2,525

SECTORS: Consumer Discretionary -1.96%, Materials -1.89%, Technology -1.84%, Financials -1.37%, Industrials -1.26%, Real Estate -1.08%, Communication Services -1.06%, Health -0.78%, Utilities -0.38%, Energy +0.13%, Consumer Staples +0.29%.

Nexperia, Automakers, Global Semiconductors - China’s commerce ministry warned renewed conflict between Nexperia and its Chinese subsidiary could trigger another global semiconductor supply chain crisis, Reuters reports. The dispute has intensified after the Chinese unit accused Nexperia’s Dutch headquarters of disabling China staff office accounts. Beijing noted that Nexperia chips are widely used in autos, and blamed the Netherlands for any renewed disruption.

S&P 500 (SPX) - S&P Dow Jones will add Vertiv Holdings (VRT), Lumentum Holdings (LITE), Coherent (COHR) and EchoStar (SATS) to the S&P 500 before the open on 23rd March, while Match Group (MTCH), Molina Healthcare (MOH), Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) and Paycom Software (PAYC) will be removed from the index.

Oracle (ORCL) - Existing plans for Oracle's data centre project with OpenAI remain on track, according to CNBC, citing a source. (CNBC)