Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 16th July 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks were ultimately mixed, albeit with a mostly negative bias in the major indices, as risk sentiment was dampened by a sell-off in semiconductor stocks. ASX 200 was subdued with the index pressured by losses in miners after BHP reported lower output. Nikkei 225 slid below 67,000 with chip-related stocks over-represented in the list of worst performers. KOSPI triggered sidecars as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix slumped alongside the semiconductor sell-off, while the BoK also raised its key rate by 25bps to 2.75%, as expected, and signalled further action. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed with the mainland in the red following disappointing loans and financing data, while the Hong Kong benchmark rallied amid strength in hyperscalers following reports that US companies were increasingly adopting open-weight Chinese AI models and that Alibaba's Qwen AI would be integrated into Apple Intelligence in China.

TSMC (2330 TT) - Q2 (TWD): Net Profit 706.6bln (exp. 632.6bln), Revenue 1.27tln (prev. 933.8bln Y/Y), Gross Margin 67.7%, +9.1% Y/Y

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.15% at 6,271, Dax 40 -0.51% at 25,019, FTSE 100 -0.15% at 10,514, CAC 40 +0.19% at 8,382, FTSE MIB -0.85% at 52,411, IBEX 35 -0.42% at 19,276, PSI -0.46% at 9,085, SMI +0.54% at 14,318, AEX +0.74% at 1,098.

FTSE 100

BAE Systems (BA/ LN) - The US approves the proposed USD 1.96bln weapons system sale to Saudi Arabia. (US State)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

HSBC (HSBA LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Erste

DAX

Bayer (BAYN GY) - Co. prices USD 5bln in five tranches maturing 2031-56. (Bayer)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Delivery Hero (DHER GY) - Uber (UBER) offers to buy Delivery Hero for EUR 41.50/shr in cash, representing an Equity Value of USD 14.8bln. (Business Wire)

BROKER MOVES

Evotec (EVT GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

Fresenius Medical Care (FME GY) initiated with Market Perform at Bernstein

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Co. is reportedly in talks to sell more A330neo jets to Flynas and Condor totaling around 15 jets, Bloomberg reports. Elsewhere, Reuters reports that the Co. is shifting the transfer of some US-built A350 fuselage parts to air from sea to counter delays. (Bloomberg/Reuters)

Kering (KER FP) - Co. appoints Romain Spitzer as Bottega Veneta CEO, effective September 1st. (Kering)

Publicis (PUB FP) - H1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 7.23bln (exp. 7.59bln), EBITDA 1.53bln (prev. 1.50bln Y/Y), EPS 3.17 (prev. 3.28 Y/Y). Raises FY26 net revenue organic growth guidance to between +4.5-5% (prev. guided +4-5%) and confirms slight operating margin improvement. (Publicis)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Sodexo (SW FP) - Co. launches its 2030 growth plan, aiming to accelerate growth and restore competitiveness. Co. aims to reach organic growth and operating margin above 5% by FY30. For FY27, the Co. expects organic revenue growth between +2-3%. In other news, the Co. has been awarded a global food services contract by Meta (META); no term disclosed. (Sodexo)

BROKER MOVES

Airbus (AIR FP) initiated with Buy at BTG Pactual

PAN EUROPE

ASML (ASML NA) - Co. reportedly plans to raise prices, The Information reports. This will likely bring the Co. into conflict with TSMC (2330 TT), who has already pushed back against ASML's pricing plans, the report adds. (The Information)

Repsol (REP SM), BMW (BMW GY) - Cos, alongside Toyota (7203 JT) and Bosch, are launching a pilot in Spain to demonstrate under real-world conditions how existing vehicles can operate exclusively on 100% renewable gasoline. The six-month initiative, which began in July 2026, will deploy Toyota and BMW vehicles powered by Repsol’s Nexa 95 100% renewable gasoline, supported by Bosch’s digital fuel tracking system. (Repsol)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

ABB (ABBN SW) - Q2 2026 (USD): EPS 0.68 (exp. 0.74, prev. 0.63 Y/Y), Revenue 9.48bln (exp. 9.41bln, prev. 8.90bln Y/Y), Operating EBITA 1.93bln (prev. 1.71bln Y/Y), Orders 12.04bln (exp. 10.52bln). Expects 2026 operational EBITA margin to improve Y/Y and sees "low-to-mid" teens growth in comparable revenues Y/Y. Co. says they see headroom for additional acquisitions and utilisations of share buybacks of up to USD 2bln. In addition, the Co. announced the acquisition of Rotork (ROR LN) in an all-cash offer at GBP 5.03/shr. ABB expects Rotork to add 3% to revenue. (ABB)

Partners Group (PGHN SW) - Q2 2026 (USD): AUM 186bln (prev. 174bln Y/Y), received USD 16bln in new client commitments in H1. Guides performance income to be "around the lower end" of the 25-40% of total revenues for FY26. Says FY estimates for tail-down effects from more mature closed-ended investment programmes are between -10 to -13bln. Additionally, the Co. said that they are considering paring back the overall sizes of its so-called evergreen funds for wealthy investors, resulting in AuM growth of between 1-2% in 2026 and 2027 as a result. (Partners Group)

Roche (ROP SW) - Co. executive says everyone is surprised that deal volumes have not picked up. Adds that the financing deals are there but the bids are not. (Newswires)

UBS (UBSG SW) - Co. reportedly hires former Goldman Sachs (GS) managing director Sakuramoto as head of debt capital markets for Japan, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Richemont (CFR SW) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

SCANDINAVIA

Aker ASA (AKER NO) - Q2 2026 (NOK): NAV 106.1bln (prev. 107.6bln Q/Q), NAV per share 1.43bln (prev. 1.15bln Q/Q), CEO: "Following the Cognite transaction, Aker’s liquidity reserve will exceed NOK 20bln. Combined with a more focused portfolio, this materially increases our capacity to pursue attractive industrial opportunities.” Additionally, the Co. announces an optional cash offer to acquire Aker BioMarine for NOK 105/shr. (Aker)

Essity (ESSITYB SS) - Q2 2026 (SEK): EPS 3.94 (exp. 4.29, prev. 4.47 Y/Y), Revenue 35.1bln (exp. 34.68bln, prev. 34.19bln Y/Y). (Essity)

Indutrade (INDT SS) - Q2 2026 (SEK): EPS 2.15 (exp. 2.06, prev. 1.75 Y/Y), Revenue 8.99bln (exp. 8.62bln, prev. 8.12bln Y/Y). (Indutrade)

Nordea (NDAFI FH) - Q2 2026 (EUR): NII 1.78bln (exp. 1.78bln), Net Profit 1.23bln (exp. 1.19bln), to award a mid-year dividend for 2026 of EUR 0.34/shr. Co. still sees 2026 RoE above 15% but cuts FY26 cost-to-income ratio excluding fees to between 44-45% (prev. guided "around" 45%). Says they are making good progress in implementing the 2030 strategy. (Nordea)

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - Co. says the European Commission has approved its once-daily Wegovy pill for weight management in adults with obesity or who are overweight. (Novo Nordisk)

Tele2 (TEL2B SS) - Q2 2026 (SEK): EPS 1.75 (exp. 1.91, prev. 1.84 Y/Y), Revenue 7.4bln (exp. 7.39bln, prev. 7.26bln Y/Y). CEO: "Adding our solid Q2 numbers to the books and closing the first half of the year, we conclude that we are well on track to reach our full year guidance. However, the second half of the year brings tough comparables, and external uncertainties remain." (Tele2)

Telenor (TEL NO) - Q2 2026 (NOK): Revenue 18.14bln (exp. 18.27bln, prev. 20.32bln Y/Y), Adj. EBITDA 7.99bln (exp. 8.3bln), Net Profit 2.52bln (exp. 3.17bln). Cuts its guidance, sees Group Adj. EBITDA organic growth of "flat to slightly negative" (prev. guided "flat to low single digit") and Nordic service revenue growth of " flat to low single digit" (prev. guided "low single digit"). Co. says 2026 is a transition year on several fronts. Nordic markets remain challenging with signs of improvement and that the outlook moderated on the back of market conditions and a few technical factors. (Telenor)

BROKER MOVES

Nokia (NOKIA FH) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SEB

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.38% at 7,572, NDX -0.28% at 29,503, DJI +0.29% at 52,664, RUT +0.39% at 2,976

SECTORS: Utilities -0.98%, Energy -0.78%, Materials -0.41%, Industrials -0.18%, Technology -0.11%, Health 0.00% (unchanged), Consumer Staples +0.10%, Real Estate +0.10%, Financials +0.66%, Consumer Discretionary +1.36%, Communication Services +2.78%

United Airlines (UAL) - Shares slipped over 2% in extended trading after soft guidance for the next quarter. Q2 adj. EPS 1.99 (exp. 1.87), Q2 revenue USD 17.7bln (exp. 17.62bln). Capacity rose 3.5% Y/Y; TRASM increased 12.1%, CASM rose 15.2% and CASM-ex increased 6.1%; available liquidity was at USD 19.6bln, and trailing twelve-month net leverage was 2.2x. CEO said United is built to thrive in every environment, with schedule adjustments after oil prices spiked alongside continued customer investments across cabins, network expansion, Starlink and Relax Row. Based on oil prices in mid-July, it expects nearly USD 6bln of added FY26 fuel expense vs expectations at the start of the year, and expects to recover 80-90% of the fuel increase in Q3 and 100% by Q4. Sees Q3 adj. EPS between 2.50-3.50 (exp. 3.48), Q3 all-in average fuel price of about USD 3.69/gallon, and expects Q3 and Q4 TRASM growth to exceed Q2. Raised FY26 guidance, sees adj. EPS between 9.00-11.00 (exp. 10.47; prev. saw 7.00-11.00) and adj. total capex of USD 7.5bln.