Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 26th June 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks were pressured following the choppy performance stateside, where markets were indecisive amid two-way trade in tech, a recent data deluge and a rebound in oil. The overnight deterioration in risk sentiment coincided with renewed selling in tech after Apple raised prices of some products by nearly 20% and with OpenAI leaning towards delaying its IPO until next year. ASX 200 was rangebound with the index cushioned as the underperformance in tech, telecoms and healthcare was partially offset by resilience in some defensive stocks. Nikkei 225 suffered heavy losses as tech stocks dominated the list of worst performers, with SoftBank down by a double-digit percentage owing to its large exposure to AI and semiconductors. KOSPI remained volatile with the slump triggering a sidecar and eventual circuit breaker alongside notable declines in both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the sell-off across the region amid the tech rout.

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS), SK Hynix (000660 KS) - Cos are preparing to announce billions of dollars’ worth of new investments on Monday, according to Maeil Business. Samsung is to unveil a KRW 1tln spending package over the next decade, with KRW 300bln to be invested in new semiconductor fabs in South Korea. (Maeil Business)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.93% at 6,272, Dax 40 +1.05% at 25,001, FTSE 100 +0.65% at 10,530, CAC 40 +0.55% at 8,432, FTSE MIB +0.28% at 51,783, IBEX 35 +0.64% at 19,514, PSI +1.12% at 9,157, SMI +0.94% at 14,250, AEX +0.22% at 1,068

SECTORS: Utilities 1.59%, Healthcare 1.57%, IT 1.50%, Financials 0.85%, Industrials 0.76%, Materials 0.64%, Consumer Disc 0.34%, Consumer Stpl 0.25%, Energy -0.23%, Telecoms -0.59%

FTSE 100

UK Groceries - Q1 food and drink exports fell 4.8% Y/Y to GBP 5.7bln, according to the FDF. Exports to the EU -6.9% in volume terms; Exports to the US -27.9% in value terms. The FDF warns that the UK government's proposed tariff suspensions on products like chocolate, biscuits and jams risk making the situation worse. (FDF)

UK Housing - Housing associations say they will be cutting building plans by a quarter over the next 3 years after UK officials imposed limits on the spending of government grants before 2029, the FT reports. This comes after Homes England imposed annual caps on project spending and refused to release money upfront to buy land. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Wise (WISE LN) - Co. guides FY26 net revenue growth around the mid-point of the 15-20% medium-term range and expects growth to be more pronounced in H1 due to pricing investment phasing. The Co. also targets FY27 pretax income margin around the top end of the 20-25% range. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

BAE Systems (BA/ LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Erste

Barratt Redrow (BDRW LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

Bellway (BWY LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

Berkeley (BKG LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg

Diageo (DGE LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at TD Cowen

Quilter (QLT LN) initiated with Outperform at Keefe Bruyette

St. James Place (STJ LN) initiated with Outperform at Keefe Bruyette

Tate & Lyle (TATE LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

DAX

Zalando (ZAL GY) - Germany's finance watchdog, BaFin, has initiated a probe into the Co.'s consolidated financial statements as of December 31st 2025, stating that information of the acquisition of About You may have been incorrectly omitted. (Newswires) Shares indicated down 16.5% on Tradegate

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Air France-KLM (AF FP) - Co. renews its exclusive partnership with chef Julien Royer, offering new exceptional dishes in La Premiere and Business cabins. (Air France-KLM)

Michelin (ML FP) - Co. says it plans to gradually shut down its BFGoodrich tire plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in phases from early 2027, and expects the plant closure by the end of 2028. Co. is to book a provision of c. EUR 220mln in non-recurring expenses this year. (Reuters)

TotalEnergies (TTE FP) - A Paris court found that the Co. must account for its customers' greenhouse gas emissions after ruling that it had a legal obligation to disclose its full climate impact. (FT)

Vinci (DG FP) - Co. is to build the second building of the New Reims Hospital, after being awarded the EUR 210mln contract. (Vinci)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Alstom (ALO FP) - Co. has been awarded a 5-year maintenance service agreement at the Nagpur depot for WAG-12B electric locomotives through its joint venture with Indian Railways (MELPL), valued at EUR 107mln. (Alstom)

BROKER MOVES

Accor (AC FP) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies

PAN EUROPE

Crypto - Binance has told its EU clients that it will stop providing services to them after failing to obtain a licence, according to FT. (FT)

Energy Names - EU Energy Ministers are to push back on a Commission-led proposal for a top-down approach to grid planning. (FT)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Co. is reportedly in talks to take over Marelli's suspensions business in Italy and some other countries, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

Eni (ENI IM) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Erste

Inwit (INW IM) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Swatch (UHR SW) - Co. is demanding USD 170mln from Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) over claims that it allowed its smart watches to be turned into digital clones Swiss watchmaker's watches, according to FT. (FT)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

BROKER MOVES

Indutrade (INDT SS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SEB

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.01% at 7,358, NDX +0.75% at 29,440, DJI +0.14% at 51,926, RUT +0.71% at 3,008

SECTORS: Consumer Discretionary -1.77%, Consumer Staples -1.08%, Communication Services -1.02%, Financials -0.47%, Technology -0.09%, Real Estate +0.13%, Utilities +0.63%, Energy +0.98%, Materials +1.39%, Health +1.53%, Industrials +2.18%.

FedEx Freight (FDXF) - Q4 revenue USD 2.4bln (exp. 2.26bln), rising +4.8% Y/Y; adjusted operating income fell by -23.9% Y/Y to USD 363mln. CEO John Smith said the newly independent company is focused on profitable growth and service differentiation. Sees revenue growth between 4-6% for the seven months ending 31st December 2026 (vs USD 5.1bln Y/Y), operating income between USD 475-515mln, adj. operating income between USD 605-645mln, operating margin between 9.0-9.5%, adj. operating margin between 11.5-12.0%, interest expense of approximately USD 135mln; diluted EPS between 1.75-1.95, and adj. diluted EPS between 2.40-2.60.

JPMorgan (JPM) - JPMorgan plans for Jamie Dimon to remain CEO for at least three more years, Reuters reports citing sources. Dimon narrowed JPMorgan's CEO succession race to two candidates, on Thursday announcing that Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh will become co-presidents (Rohrbaugh will run the Chase retail business; Petno will lead the commercial and investment bank), while Marianne Lake was told she was no longer in the running and decided to leave the bank, FT said.

Onsemi (ON), Synaptics (SYNA) - Onsemi agreed to acquire Synaptics in an all-stock deal valued at about USD 7bln. Synaptics shareholders will receive 1.350 Onsemi shares for each Synaptics share, representing a 19% premium. Onsemi said the deal expands its presence in AI-enabled devices, physical AI, robotics and humanoid markets.