Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 8th June 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks were negative following the recent geopolitical escalation in the Middle East and last Friday's tech losses on Wall St, as money markets priced in a Fed rate hike this year following strong jobs data. Do note that Australian participants have been spared from the selling today due to a holiday closure. Nikkei 225 slumped at the open and briefly fell beneath the 64,000 level with intraday losses of over 3,000 points, amid higher oil prices and a downward revision to annualised GDP for Q1. KOSPI underperformed with the index triggering a circuit breaker early in the session after slumping by more than 8% as the tech sector was spooked after last Friday's selling stateside. However, the index is well off today's lows following efforts by NVIDIA's CEO Huang to talk up tech stocks and with announcements made regarding cooperation with South Korean tech firms. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were on the backfoot with weakness seen in tech and mining.

TOTO (5332 JT) - Co. will fully resume new orders for prefabricated bathrooms from Tuesday, lifting restrictions imposed in mid-April when the Iran war disrupted its supply of naphtha-derived materials, Bloomberg reports. The company cited an improved raw materials outlook and completed upgrades to its ordering system, and has no immediate plans to raise prices. (Bloomberg)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.76% at 6,057, DAX -0.75% at 24,759, FTSE 100 +0.07% at 10,368, CAC 40 -0.32% at 8,218, AEX -0.55% at 1,041, IBEX 35 +0.38% at 18,345, FTSE MIB -0.56% at 49,893, SMI +0.35% at 13,388, PSI +0.13% at 8,932.

SECTORS: Consumer Stpl 1.30%, Healthcare 1.29%, Utilities 1.17%, Consumer Disc 0.41%, Energy 0.16%, Financials -0.29%, Telecoms -0.42%, Industrials -0.62%, Materials -1.49%, IT -3.37%

FTSE 100

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) - Co. CEO tells the FT that they could be forced to withhold new medicines in the UK and Europe if it did not secure higher prices, leaving the Co. to almost exclusively focus on the US market. In other news, the Co. announced positive results from a prespecified interim analysis of the I CAN Phase III trial evaluating Ultomiris, which met the primary endpoint of change from baseline in 24-hour urine protein creatinine ratio (UPCR) at week 34, demonstrating a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in proteinuria compared to placebo in adults with immunoglobulin A nephropathy who are at risk of disease progression. (FT/AstraZeneca)

UK Banking - Santander's CEO Botín attacks the UK's bank taxes, stating that "taxing banks more heavily than other companies make no economic sense," the FT reports. (FT)

UK Defence - UK PM Starmer is reportedly expected to announce a c. GBP 15bln injection into the UK military, funded by reductions in spending across the government departments, the FT reports. (FT)

UK Tech - The UK is to offer buying AI chips from British tech firms in an attempt to stop them moving to the US, the Telegraph reports. This comes ahead of the Technology Secretary’s announcement to outline plans to make strategic purchases of semiconductor equipment. (The Telegraph)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

Frasers Group (FRAS LN) - Co. is considering a GBP 500mln bid for Metrocentre, Sky News reports. (Sky News)

Tate & Lyle (TATE LN) - Ingredion is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Tate & Lyle in a deal valued at GBP 2.7bln, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

Harbour Energy (HBR LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Co. receives order for 14 wind projects, totaling 39 turbines and 255MW. (Nordex)

BROKER MOVES

Evonik (EVK GY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

Symrise (SY1 GY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Co. is reportedly considering when to launch a larger A220 jet due to limited optimism from powerful leasing companies, Reuters reports citing sources. The source added that a launch at the Farnborough air show in July is not probable. In other news, the Co. has notified some customers of delays of a few months for A320neo-series jets due in 2027 and 2028, with A321neo aircraft most affected, according to Bloomberg citing sources. Elsewhere, the Co. is reportedly nearing a widebody order of between 15-20 aircraft from Scandinavian airline SAS AB, according to Bloomberg. (Reuters/Bloomberg)

Air France-KLM (AF FP), easyJet (EZJ LN) - Air France-KLM CEO has signalled a potential willingness to get involved in a possible bid for easyJet, stating he would take a call from Castlelake if a proposition is given (Bloomberg)

Bouygues (EN FP), Orange (ORA FP) - The Bouygues-led consortium announced they have signed an MoU with Alice to buy SFR for EUR 20.35bln, including debt. As part of the deal, Bouygues would acquire 52% of SFR’s assets. (Reuters)

Euronext (ENX FP) - Reports May equity derivatives volume -7.7% M/M, -7.4% Y/Y. (Euronext)

Safran (SAF FP) - SIA Engineering (SIE SP) partnered with Safran Aircraft Engines in a USD 118mln JV to set up a full-fledged aircraft engine shop in Singapore. (Business Times)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Co.'s Sarclisa subcutaneous approved in the EU as the first anticancer treatment administered via an on-body injector. (Sanofi)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Casino (CO FP) - Co. clarifies that they have not signed an agreement with banks after reports on June 5th stating that the group has signed with banks as part of its project to adapt and strengthen its financial structure. (Casino)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Airlines - British Airways CEO said fares will have to rise further if jet fuel prices stay high, talking at a meeting in Rio. (FT)

Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP IM), Banco BPM (BAMI IM), BMPS (BMPS IM) - Banco BPM announced that its board has unanimously approved approaching Monte dei Paschi to explore a merger of equals. However, Intesa Sanpaolo has now entered to compete for the acquisition of BMPS, offering EUR 10.09/shr which is a 12.5% premium against BMPS' closing price on Friday. (Banco BPM/Intesa Sanpaolo)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Roche (ROP SW) - Co. announces a global collaboration with Nurix Therapeutics to co-develop and co-commercialise potential best-in-class BTK degrader bexobrutideg across malignant haematology, immunology and neurology. Roche is to licence Nurix's bexobrutideg for up to USD 2.3bln, while Nurix to receive USD 700mln upfront. (Roche)

Swiss-US Trade - NZZ am Sonntag reported that Swiss companies invested USD 27bln in the US between January-April, as the country attempts to increase investment following its trade agreement. (NZZ am Sonntag)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Temenos (TEMN SW) - Co. acquires Additiv; no terms disclosed. (Temenos)

BROKER MOVES

Clariant (CLN SW) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs

Givaudan (GIVN SW) upgraded to Buy from Sell at Goldman Sachs

SCANDINAVIA

Carlsberg A/S (CARLB DC) - Carlsberg is preparing to file draft papers for an IPO of its India unit as early as this month, potentially raising up to USD 700mln, sources cited by Bloomberg said. The secondary share sale could occur later this year. (Bloomberg)

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - Novo Nordisk announced real-world evidence in adults with type 2 diabetes treated with once-weekly semaglutide 1mg, comparing escalation to semaglutide 2mg with switching to tirzepatide. At one year, both groups had similar HbA1c outcomes below 7%, while semaglutide 2mg showed a statistically higher event rate for achieving weight loss of at least 5%. Co. says prescriptions for its Wegovy weight-loss pill surpassed 3mln since launching in early Jan. (Novo Nordisk)

Zealand Pharma (ZEAL DC) - Zealand Pharma presented additional Phase 2 ZUPREME-1 data for once-weekly petrelintide at ADA 2026. Petrelintide reduced body weight by up to 10.7% at Week 42 versus 1.7% for placebo, was generally well tolerated, had low GI discontinuation, and improved cardiometabolic risk factors including waist circumference, hs-CRP and triglycerides.

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -2.64% at 7,384, NDX -4.77% at 28,958, DJI -1.35% at 50,872, RUT -3.47% at 2,834

SECTORS: Consumer Staples +1.64%, Utilities +0.80%, Real Estate +0.69%, Health +0.65%, Financials +0.13%, Industrials -1.10%, Communication Services -1.65%, Energy -1.77%, Materials -2.04%, Consumer Discretionary -2.43%, Technology -5.78%

Eli Lilly (LLY) - Eli Lilly reported positive Phase 3 retatrutide results showing substantial weight loss and meaningful improvements in knee osteoarthritis pain, moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnoea and type 2 diabetes. TRIUMPH-1 and TRANSCEND-T2D-1 findings were presented at ADA 2026, with TRANSCEND-T2D-1 results simultaneously published in The Lancet.

Nvidia (NVDA), SK Hynix (HXSCL) - Nvidia and SK Hynix announced a multiyear technology partnership covering next-generation memory for Nvidia AI servers, PCs and robotics, Digitimes reports. The deal spans Vera Rubin, Vera CPUs, RTX Spark PCs and Jetson Thor, while extending into semiconductor design, AI factory infrastructure, digital manufacturing, SK Telecom collaboration and autonomous manufacturing tools.

S&P 500 (SPX) - S&P Dow Jones Indices said Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Flex (FLEX) will join the S&P 500 before trading opens on 22nd June, coinciding with the quarterly rebalance; Campbell's Company (CPB) and Pool Corp (POOL) will be deleted.