Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 14th May 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mixed following the mostly positive lead from Wall Street, where markets were choppy and gradually brushed aside the firmer-than-expected PPI data amid strength in tech and communications, while the focus turns to the Trump-Xi summit, which has begun in Beijing, although it has provided very little so far to excite markets. ASX 200 was lacklustre as weakness in consumer staples, tech, health care and energy counterbalanced the resilience in the top-weighted financials sector, while a lack of tier-1 data added to the humdrum mood. Nikkei 225 initially climbed to a fresh record high, before fading the gains amid quiet catalysts. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed as participants digested earnings releases, including from the likes of Alibaba and Tencent, which both beat on the bottom line but disappointed on sales, while participants now await any concrete outcomes from the Trump-Xi summit.

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Samsung proposed resuming pay talks with its South Korean labour union after government-mediated negotiations collapsed, Reuters reports; the Labour Commission called for another mediated round on Saturday to avert an 18-day strike planned from 21st May. Separately, Samsung has reportedly cut production and entered emergency management ahead of a planned strikes, Money Today reports; industry sources warned a shutdown could cause KRW 100tln in losses, with over 40k workers said to have applied to strike. (Reuters/Money Today)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +1.02% at 5,868, Dax 40 +0.61% at 24,102, FTSE 100 +0.58% at 10,325, CAC 40 +0.35% at 8,008, FTSE MIB +1.00% at 49,481, IBEX 35 +0.46% at 17,655, PSI +0.24% at 9,072, SMI +0.71% at 13,213, AEX +1.07% at 1,010

SECTORS: IT 3.69%, Materials 2.30%, Consumer Disc 0.84%, Financials 0.82%, Industrials 0.39%, Telecoms 0.37%, Utilities 0.27%, Healthcare -0.03%, Consumer Stpl -0.05%, Energy -0.34%

FTSE 100

Ex-Dividends - Pershing Square (PSH LN), Coca-Cola HBC (CCH LN), Tesco (TSCO LN), BP (BP/ LN), GSK (GSK LN), Unilever (ULVR LN) and HSBC (HSBA LN) will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend. (dividenddata)

UK Construction/Manufacturing - British Chambers of Commerce warned UK manufacturers and construction groups will be hit by significant financial and logistical problems as a result of ministers' plans to double tariffs on steel imports from July 1st, according to FT. (FT)

UK Housing - UK RICS House Price Balance (Apr) -34% vs. Exp. -25% (Prev. -23%).

OTHER UK COMPANIES

ITV (ITV LN) - Comcast-owned Sky is reportedly in advanced talks to buy ITV's Media and Entertainment unit in a deal valued at GBP 1.6bln. (Reuters)

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Xpeng (9868 HK) is exploring a factory deal with the Co. in Europe, according to the FT. (FT)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Vinci (DG FP) - Taylor Woodrow, a subsidiary of the Co, win a EUR 990mln contract by H2S to build a set of key infrastructure works for the future British high-speed rail line bearing the same name. (Vinci)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Flughafen Wien (FLU AV) - April passengers 3.68mln, -2.1% Y/Y. (Flughafen Wien)

Telefonica (TEF SM) - Q1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 8.13bln (exp. 8.14bln), Adj. EBITDA 2.84bln (prev. 2.80bln Y/Y), Operating Income 1.12bln (prev. 1.12bln Y/Y), affirms FY26 guidance and confirms EUR 0.15 dividend/shr in cash. Revenue grew 0.8% Y/Y, driven by the +1.1% Y/Y increase in service revenue, partially offsetting the -2.4% decrease in handset sales. (Telefonica)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Flughafen Zurich (FHZN SW) - April passengers 2.95mln, +6.1% Y/Y. (Flughafen Zurich)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

UPM-Kymmene (UPM FH) - Co. acquires Ray Technology intellectual property from Avantium, broadening its bio-based glycols IP portfolio. (UPM-Kymmene)

BROKER MOVES

Aker (AKER NO) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Danske Bank

QT Group (QTCOM FH) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SEB

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.58% at 7,444, NDX +1.04% at 29,367, DJI -0.14% at 49,698, RUT +0.04% at 2,844

SECTORS: Utilities -1.26%, Financials -1.07%, Real Estate -0.90%, Industrials -0.43%, Materials UNCH, Energy +0.16%, Consumer Staples +0.29%, Health +0.63%, Consumer Discretionary +0.75%, Technology +0.98%, Communication Services +2.65%.

Apple (AAPL) - Apple has internally discussed integrating AI agents into the App Store, according to Yicai. The plan would involve using the technology trend while ensuring apps in the store continue to comply with Apple’s rules. The Yicai report added that broader adoption of agentic AI in software creation has put Apple on the defensive. (Yicai)

Cisco (CSCO) - Cisco shares rose 20% in extended US trading after it beat earnings and revenue expectations, issued stronger-than-expected guidance, highlighted surging AI infrastructure orders despite announcing job cuts. Q3 adj. EPS 1.06 (exp. 1.04), Q3 revenue USD 15.8bln (exp. 15.56bln); Q3 RPO was +4% Y/Y at USD 43.5bln, product RPO +6% Y/Y, services RPO +2% Y/Y. Exec noted record high Q3 demand, with product revenue driven by robust demand for AI infrastructure and campus networking solutions, while FY26 hyperscaler AI infrastructure orders are now expected at around USD 9bln (prev. saw USD 5bln) after USD 5.3bln of orders YTD. The company announced a restructuring plan with up to USD 1bln of pre-tax charges, and said it will reduce its workforce in Q4 by fewer than 4,000 jobs. Sees Q4 adj. EPS between 1.16-1.18 (exp. 1.07), Q4 revenue between USD 16.7-16.9bln (exp. 15.82bln); raises FY26 adj. EPS view to between 4.27-4.29 (exp. 4.16; prev. saw 4.13-4.17), and FY26 revenue to between USD 62.8-63bln (exp. 61.6bln; prev. saw 61.2-61.7bln); expects to recognise around USD 4bln of FY26 AI infrastructure revenue from hyperscalers and at least USD 6bln in FY27. (Bloomberg)

Microsoft (MSFT) - Microsoft is reportedly exploring AI startup deals as it prepares for a potential future beyond its OpenAI partnership, according to The Information. It has discussed a possible deal with Inception, and has weighed an acquisition of Cursor, but backed away over antitrust concerns. (The Information)

Nvidia (NVDA) - The US has reportedly approved around 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia H200 chips, according to Reuters. Buyers include Alibaba (BABA/ 9988 HK), ByteDance, Tencent (TCEHY/0700 HK), JD.com (JD/ 9618 HK). (Reuters)