Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 9th October 2026

APAC stocks traded mixed following the lacklustre handover from Wall St, where most major indices declined, and the Nasdaq underperformed as tech selling and AI-related concerns were stoked by a report that OpenAI's annual revenue was USD 20bln below previous estimates, at USD 50bln versus USD 70bln, although there have been a couple of reports since that have provided some clarification regarding this. ASX 200 was positive with the majority of sectors in the green, although gains were capped amid underperformance in telecoms and with commodity-related industries range-bound. Nikkei 225 declined at the open amid tech-related pressure and with the index also not helped by the closures of its tech-heavy counterparts in South Korea and Taiwan, but has since recouped most of the losses. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp diverged amid mixed performances in tech stocks and with the mainland pressured after a paltry liquidity operation by the PBoC, while the subdued spending during the National Day holiday also raises questions regarding domestic demand in the Chinese economy.

SoftBank (9984 JT) - Co. has reportedly held discussions with senior gulf investors to raise up to USD 100bln to expand AI bet, according to FT. (FT)

Xiaomi (1810 HK) - Co. announces that its SkyNomad model has over 70,000 orders within the first month of launch. (CarNewsChina) Xiaomi shares rose 7.5% in Asia Trade

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.94% at 6,122, Dax 40 -1.12% at 24,823, FTSE 100 -0.16% at 10,442, CAC 40 -0.51% at 7,730, FTSE MIB -1.35% at 49,298, IBEX 35 -0.87% at 18,952, PSI +0.15% at 9,348, SMI -1.24% at 13,637, AEX +0.31% at 1,121

AstraZeneca (AZN LN), Guardant Health (GH) - Guardant Health’s Guardant360 CDx received European CE marking as a companion diagnostic for AstraZeneca’s ETCAMAH in patients with oestrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. (Guardant Health)

BP (BP/ LN) - Co. is removing personnel and shutting in production at both NA Kika and Thunder Horse platforms ahead of Hurricane Isaias. (Newswires)

Glencore (GLEN LN) - Glencore expects its upcoming Sydney listing to attract Australian pension fund investment and support its share price, Bloomberg reports. CEO dismissed concerns that the company’s coal exposure would deter investors, citing changing attitudes towards fossil fuels. (Bloomberg)

Prudential (PRU LN) - Prudential Life Insurance Co. says a third-party probe by lawyers found that more than 100 former and current salespeople had engaged in fraudulent or inappropriate transactions with customers worth JPY 5.2bln over more than three decades. (Kyodo)

Revolut - Co. CEO says he wants to hold a primary listing in the US, given the deep liquidity of the US market. (Bloomberg)

Shell (SHEL LN) - Co. says evacuations are complete across Appomattox, Mars, Ursa, Olympus and Vito facilities, while it confirms production shut-in for facilities and is continuing to monitor Hurricane Isaias for possible impacts to assets and operations. (Shell)

WPP (WPP LN) - Co. appoints Tyler Turnbull as CEO of WPP Creative, effective early 2027. (WPP)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Pearson (PSON LN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

Pennon (PNN LN) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

Mercedes-Benz (MBG GY) - In a note, RBC highlights that there is a "decent possibility" that the Co. gives a profit warning in its Q3 results and cuts its FY guidance. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Heidelberg Materials (HEI GY) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

Rational (RAA GY) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

Rheinmetall (RHM GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

Airbus (AIR FP) - Reports September deliveries of 72 and 17 gross orders. (Airbus)

Carrefour (CA FP) - Co. announces the sale of a real estate portfolio of 35 stores in France and Spain to a joint venture between Atrato and GIC for EUR 290mln. (Carrefour)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Saint-Gobain (SGO FP) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC

BROKER MOVES

Logitech (LOGN SW) - Co. launches Rally Speaker 2 Pro and Rally Speaker 2 Max, audio systems engineered to bring highly-precise sound targeting to extra-large conference rooms and training environments. (Logitech)

Partners Group (PGHN SW) - Co. launches a new global multi-sector private credit income strategy, which will be accessible to both institutional and private wealth investors globally through an evergreen fund. (Partners Group)

Roche (ROP SW) - Co. announces that the US FDA has approved Tecentriq and Tecentriq Hybreza in combination with a fluoropyrimidine and oxaliplatin for the adjuvant treatment of stage 3 dMMR colon cancer. The FDA approval is based on the phase 3 ATOMIC study. (Roche)

Sika (SIKA SW) - Co. acquires Azpects; no terms disclosed. (Sika)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Co. signs a contract to provide railroad improvements in northeast USA for about SEK 1.3bln. (Skanska)

Tryg (TRYG DC) - Q3 2026 (DKK): Pretax Profit 2.12bln (prev. 1.98bln Y/Y), Insurance Service Result 2.45bln (prev. 2.81bln Y/Y), Combined Ratio 76.8% (prev. 78.6% Y/Y). Provides 2027 targets: Insurance Service Result between DKK 8-8.4bln. (Tryg)

BROKER MOVES

CLOSES: SPX -0.49% at 7,764, NDX -1.39% at 30,726, DJI +0.10% at 51,232, RUT -0.03% at 2,792

SECTORS: Technology -1.78%, Consumer discretionary -0.47%, Health -0.41%, Utilities -0.26%, Communication services flat, Industrials +0.3%, Materials +0.46%, Real estate +0.58%, Financials +0.91%, Consumer staples +2.12%, Energy +2.92%.

Apple (AAPL) - Apple reportedly plans to unveil its first touch-screen MacBook Pro and an OLED iPad mini around 27th October 2026. The launch will also include M6-powered 14-inch MacBook Pro and iMac models. The touch-screen MacBook Pros will feature OLED displays and Dynamic Island, while the iPad mini will gain a landscape-positioned camera and revamped speakers.

Coca-Cola (KO) - Coca-Cola is again exploring a sale of Costa Coffee after abandoning an earlier process amid weak private-equity interest, according to Semafor. Coca-Cola bought the chain from Whitbread for USD 5.1bln in 2018 but has struggled to grow it. Costa has 2,700 UK and Ireland outlets and lost nearly GBP 20mln across 2023 and 2024.

OpenAI - OpenAI is expected to reach or top USD 70bln in annualised revenue by the end of 2026, Bloomberg reports citing sources. It was earlier reported by the FT that the Co.'s annualised revenue run rate is around USD 50bln in September, below earlier estimates of nearly USD 70bln. The FT detailed that the discrepancy stems from investors’ attempts to compare OpenAI’s figures more directly with Anthropic’s, including how it accounts for sales through cloud providers.

SpaceX (SPCX) - SpaceX agreed to acquire Grain Management’s nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio for approximately USD 8bln in cash, according to the WSJ. The transaction requires FCC approval. The purchase would strengthen Starlink Mobile’s indoor coverage; the report said it moves Starlink closer ‌to mounting a direct challenge to legacy wireless companies in the US, with shares of T-Mobile (TMUS), Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) dropping in US afterhours trade.