Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 9th June 2026
ASIA
APAC stocks traded somewhat mixed, albeit with a mostly positive bias as indices rebounded from yesterday's losses, with sentiment helped by Israel and Iran halting their strikes, while participants also reflected on the better-than-expected Chinese trade data. ASX 200 declined as the prior day's losses caught up with the index on return from a long weekend. Nikkei 225 fluctuated and briefly wiped out all its opening gains before rebounding to print fresh intraday highs. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed with the mainland kept afloat following the stronger-than-expected Chinese trade data, although gains were capped after the US Pentagon posted a list of Chinese military companies, which included Alibaba, Baidu, BYD, Tencent, NIO and Cosco among others.
EUROPEAN CLOSES
CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.04% at 6,064, Dax 40 -0.47% at 24,642, FTSE 100 +0.05% at 10,373, CAC 40 -0.23% at 8,199, FTSE MIB +0.63% at 50,208, IBEX 35 -0.66% at 18,223, PSI -0.01% at 8,931, SMI -0.56% at 13,314, AEX +0.37% at 1,045
SECTORS: IT 1.77%, Telecoms 0.45%, Consumer Disc 0.09%, Energy -0.03%, Consumer Stpl -0.15%, Financials -0.17%, Industrials -0.34%, Utilities -0.66%, Materials -0.95%, Healthcare -1.07%
FTSE 100
AstraZeneca (AZN LN) - Co.'s oral GLP-1 receptor agonist elecoglipron (75mg) achieved average body weight reduction of 10.5% at 26 weeks versus 0.6% with placebo in a trial of adults with obesity or overweight, with weight loss continuing to 11.8% at 36 weeks. Up to 88.8% of participants receiving elecoglipron achieved at least 5% weight loss. The drug will now advance to a Phase III programme. Elsewhere, at its investor meeting, the Co. reiterated its USD 80bln risk-adjusted total revenue ambition for 2030 and said an "exceptional run" of positive Phase 3 readouts over the past 18 months strengthens its confidence in growth through 2030 and beyond. (AstraZeneca/Newswires)
GSK (GSK LN) - Co. is in talks to acquire cancer biotech Nuvalent (NUVL) for USD 9-10bln, a significant premium to its approximately USD 7bln market capitalisation at Monday's close, FT reports. A deal could be agreed as soon as this week, though talks could still collapse. (FT) GSK has subsequently confirmed, see additional equity news for more.
UK Retail - BRC Retail Sales Monitor YoY (May) Y/Y 3.4% vs. Exp. 0.6% (Prev. -3.4%).
OTHER UK COMPANIES
BROKER MOVES
Tate & Lyle (TATE LN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas
WPP (WPP LN) initiated with Buy at Berenberg
DAX
OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES
BROKER MOVES
Lufthansa (LHA GY) downgraded to Sell from Reduce at AlphaValue
CAC
Airbus (AIR FP), Dassault Aviation (AM FP) - German Chancellor Merz has reportedly told French President Macron that it wants to withdraw from plans to develop a joint fighter jet, the FT reports. As an alternative, the Chancellor proposed, with the inclusion of Spain, to continue collaboration on the so-called combat cloud, one of the pillars already part of the EUR 100bln FCAS programme. (FT)
EssilorLuxottica (EL FP) - The EU is said to be ramping up warnings over surveillance risks of smart glasses, with the Chair of the European Data Protection Board ordering a report into smart glasses which should be finalised in the summer. (Politico) Of note for Meta (META)
Orange (ORA FP) - Co. is to acquire MasOrange for EUR 4.25bln. (Orange)
OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES
Elis (ELIS FP) - Co. announces the acquisition of RS10; no terms disclosed. (Elis)
Technip Energies (TE FP) - Co., alongside Airbus, Safran and Tereos, have entered into an agreement to create Rebound, a JV to develop aviation fuel production in Northern France. (Globe Newswire)
BROKER MOVES
Publicis (PUB FP) initiated with Buy at Berenberg
PAN EUROPE
ASML (ASML NA) - Co.'s CEO warns EU against directing chip supplies and says the industry needs champions, not intervention, according to FT. (FT)
Italian Banks - The Italian government is reportedly taking a neutral stance regarding the M&A moves targeting BMPS (BMPS IM), Reuters reports. This comes after both Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP IM) and Banco BPM (BAMI IM) put in offers to merge or buy the bank. (Reuters)
Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Co. is recalling over 1.3mln Jeep SUVs and trucks over fire concerns. (Reuters)
BROKER MOVES
SMI
Nestle (NESN SW) - Co.'s long-term private equity partner, PAI Partners, has reportedly withdrawn from the bidding for Nestle's water business, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)
UBS (UBSG SW) - Co. is reportedly cutting its sustainability office in Asia, cutting its headcount by half as part of a broader global restructuring, Bloomberg reports. In other news, Swiss lawmakers are said to be considering a new pitch to soften capital requirements on the bank which could reduce billions of dollars off the burden if implemented, Reuters reports. (Bloomberg/Reuters)
OTHER SWISS COMPANIES
SoftwareOne (SWON SW) - Co. set out its new 2030 financial targets: high-single-digit revenue CAGR, EBITDA margin >28% and FCF conversion >60%. (SoftwareOne)
BROKER MOVES
SCANDINAVIA
BROKER MOVES
Boliden (BOL SS) initiated with Sell at Goldman Sachs
US
CLOSES: SPX +0.30% at 7,406, NDX +1.58% at 29,414, DJI -0.16% at 50,791, RUT +0.77% at 2,855.
SECTORS: Technology +1.47%, Energy +1.14%, Consumer Discretionary +0.49%, Health -0.22%, Consumer Staples -0.31%, Industrials -0.34%, Financials -0.58%, Communication Services -1.07%, Materials -1.28%, Real Estate -1.63%, Utilities -1.92%.
Alibaba (BABA), Baidu (BIDU) - The Pentagon added Alibaba (BABA), Baidu (BIDU), BYD (BYDDY), WuXi AppTec (WUXAY), CXMT, YMTC, RoboSense Technology, and Unitree to its 1260H list of companies deemed affiliated with China's military, CNBC reports. The designations bar the Defense Department from contracting directly with listed companies from later this month, and from procuring their products through third parties from June 2027. Alibaba, Baidu, and WuXi AppTec disputed the designations and pledged to seek removal.
Apple (AAPL) - Apple's WWDC 2026 keynote featured a redesigned Siri, overhauled operating system foundations for improved speed and search, and expanded AI capabilities aimed at everyday consumers. The Mac is receiving productivity enhancements via Visual Intelligence, and Apple is preparing its software platform to support future AI devices and foldable iPhones. Apple shares fell just shy of 2% on Monday after the keynote.
Merck (MRK), Gilead (GILD) - Merck and Gilead discontinued the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-D46/EVOKE-03 study of Trodelvy plus Keytruda versus Keytruda monotherapy in previously untreated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer following a Data Monitoring Committee review. A numerical improvement in progression-free survival was observed but did not reach statistical significance, and overall survival benefit at the planned final analysis is considered unlikely.