Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 24th June 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks saw mixed price action as the initial rebound from the prior day's tech-driven sell-off gradually waned in the absence of any fresh major catalysts. ASX 200 traded rangebound as strength in tech and defensives was counterbalanced by losses in mining and energy following the recent declines in underlying commodity prices, while inflation data was mixed and would likely have little bearing on monetary policy. Nikkei 225 failed to sustain early gains and dipped back beneath the 70,000 level, while Services PPI data printed in line with forecasts and the BoJ Summary of Opinions showed members continued to advocate for further rate increases. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were indecisive as the attention turned to the WEF in Dalian, where Premier Li said China's economy shows resilience and maintains sound momentum. He stated China remains committed to opening up and will continue to accelerate the large-scale application of new technologies.

SK Hynix (000660 KS) - SK Hynix is expected to file a statement with Korea's financial regulator for an ADR offering, marking the next step toward a US listing, Korea Economic Daily reports. Industry estimates put the offering's size at as much as USD 26bln, though earlier reports suggested it could raise up to USD 10bln. The regulator's review could conclude by 3rd July, potentially allowing trading to begin as early as next month.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -1.25% at 6,232, Dax 40 -0.81% at 24,937, FTSE 100 -0.09% at 10,429, CAC 40 -0.71% at 8,341, FTSE MIB -1.46% at 52,024, IBEX 35 -0.34% at 19,477, PSI -0.34% at 9,137, SMI +0.45% at 13,911, AEX -1.60% at 1,066.

SECTORS: Healthcare 1.98%, Consumer Stpl 1.49%, Telecoms 0.31%, Utilities -0.07%, Energy -0.09%, Financials -0.73%, Consumer Disc -0.93%, Materials -1.70%, Industrials -1.72%, IT -4.48%

FTSE 100

BT Group (BT/A LN) - Co. told analysts that its pension scheme lost GBP 300mln after writing off its stake in Thames Water. (FT)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Co.'s exec. says they expect its lithium business to grow faster than its copper, iron ore and other divisions as it works to triple production by 2028 for the EV and battery storage markets. (Reuters)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Barclays (BARC LN) initiated with Buy at Berenberg

Lloyds (LLOY LN) initiated with Hold at Berenberg

NatWest (NWG LN) initiated with Buy at Berenberg

DAX

German Defence - Germany is set to scrap plans to build its biggest warships since the Second World War, as it wants to ditch the F126 frigate program after cost overruns and delays, according to FT. (FT)

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Audi is reportedly considering lowering its medium-term sales target to 2mln (prev. 2.2mln) and whether to build a new plant in the US, Handelsblatt reports. (Handelsblatt)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Co. receives a 112MW order from NeXtWind for a wind farm in Saxony; no terms disclosed. (Nordex)

TAG Immobilien (TEG GY) - Co. has placed 25mln shares in Robyg as part of its IPO, priced at PLN 34. The Co. expects gross proceeds of c. EUR 200mln. (TAG Immobilien)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - The EASA has ordered the Co. to inspect 16 A380 planes after cracks were found in a wing component on some aircraft. (WSJ)

Thales (HO FP) - Co. has been awarded an order of up to 5000 LOCODA RAT platforms; no terms disclosed. (Thales)

TotalEnergies (TTE FP) - Co.'s CEO says they need to prioritise the building of pipelines that could export oil and gas from the Middle East without ships going through the Strait of Hormuz. (Reuters)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Saipem (SPM IM) - Co. has reached an agreement with ADES for the divestment of its Shallow Water Drilling activities in Saudi Arabia, with the transaction value of USD 285mln. (Saipem)

Seco (IOT IM) - Co. announces the resignation of its CSO, effective June 29th. (Seco)

BROKER MOVES

Allegro (ALEP PW) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

Poste Italiane (PST IM) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Skanska (SKAB SS) - Co. has agreed to build a new convention centre hotel in Cincinnati for c. SEK 3bln. (Skanska)

BROKER MOVES

Ambu (AMBUB DC) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Danske Bank

Truecaller (TRUEB SS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SEB

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.44% at 7,365, NDX -3.29% at 29,347, DJI -0.09% at 51,672, RUT -0.96% at 2,975

SECTORS: Technology -3.66%, Industrials -2.03%, Materials -1.60%, Consumer Discretionary -0.93%, Communication Services -0.33%, Financials +0.36%, Energy +0.68%, Utilities +0.83%, Real Estate +1.35%, Health +1.38%, Consumer Staples +1.78%.

Cerebras Systems (CBRS) - Shares fell over 10% in extended trading after the AI chipmaker forecast a decline in gross margins, overshadowing strong revenue growth in its first earnings report since going public. Q1 EPS -0.22 (exp. -0.16), Q1 revenue USD 193.4mln (exp. 181.2mln). Core revenue was USD 191.3mln (vs 99.5mln Y/Y). CEO Andrew Feldman said it was an outstanding start to 2026 as AI moves from novelty to productivity and demand builds for faster AI infrastructure; said Cerebras’ wafer-scale technology is driving momentum with customers including OpenAI and AWS, as advanced AI applications require infrastructure capable of delivering at unprecedented speed. Sees Q2 core revenue around USD 194mln (exp. 177.67mln), core gross margin between 36-38%, and core operating margin between -32 and -30%; sees FY26 core revenue between USD 855-865mln (exp. 824.8mln) and core gross margin between 38-41%.

Dow Jones Industrial Average - Alphabet (GOOGL) will be added to the index, replacing Verizon Communications (VZ), effective prior to the open on 29th June. Honeywell International (HON) will remain in the index following the spin-off of Honeywell Aerospace (HONA), which is expected to complete on 29th June; Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) will not be added to the DJIA.

FedEx (FDX) - Shares fell over 6% in extended trading after its weaker-than-expected profit guidance overshadowed stronger Q4 results and management’s positive comments on transformation efforts. Q4 EPS 6.31 (exp. 5.95), Q4 revenue USD 25.0bln (exp. 24.03bln). CEO said it delivered a strong finish to FY26, with transformation initiatives and profitable growth driving momentum across its global industrial network, while the FedEx Freight spin-off positions the company to optimise its network, reduce cost to serve and drive free cash flow. On call, management said B2B services drove most quarterly revenue growth, with progress in healthcare, automotive, aerospace and data centre verticals, while ground economy volume fell about 5% and international export package volumes rose 5% Y/Y. USD 1.3bln remains under its 2024 repurchase authorisation, and intends to repurchase up to USD 1bln of shares opportunistically in 2026. Sees 2026 EPS between 16.90-18.10 (exp. 19.86) and revenue growth of 11%, including around three percentage points from fuel surcharge benefit, and sees June-December revenue growth of 10% Y/Y, and capex of USD 3.9bln.

Morgan Stanley (MS) - Morgan Stanley has again limited redemptions at its USD 7bln North Haven Private Income Fund after investors sought to withdraw about 11.6% of units outstanding, with the fund meeting 43% of Q2 redemption requests. About half of the latest requests came from investors previously unable to fully cash out, following a 10.9% withdrawal request in Q1. A smaller affiliated fund faced 7.2% redemption requests, with 5% to be honoured, Reuters reports.

Nike (NKE) - Nike appointed David M. Denton as Executive Vice-President and CFO, effective 17th August. Matthew Friend will step down as CFO, and remain until 4th September to support the transition. Friend will participate in Nike’s Q4 earnings call on 30th June, as planned. Nike added that Q4 results will include a benefit from tariff refunds that was not included in prior guidance; ex this one-time benefit, Q4 results are expected to be generally in line with previously provided guidance.

Qualcomm (QCOM) - Qualcomm is in talks to provide custom chip-design services to ByteDance, as it seeks to reduce reliance on smartphones, its largest revenue source, according to sources cited by Reuters. The chips would be based partly on technology from AlphaWave Semi, which Qualcomm acquired last year, with discussions reportedly involving video processing units and an eye toward mass production by year-end. The outcome remains uncertain, with ByteDance potentially pursuing other partners.

S&P 500 - Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) will join the S&P 500 and S&P 100 on 29th June; Honeywell Aerospace will replace Conagra Brands (CAG) in the S&P 500, while Conagra will replace Grid Dynamics (GDYN) in the S&P SmallCap 600. Honeywell International (HON) will be renamed Honeywell Technologies after the spin-off.