Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 4th September 2026

APAC stocks took impetus from the positive global risk sentiment and lower yield environment after Fed's Waller kept a September rate hold in play and following no major new geopolitical developments, while participants look ahead to the key US jobs data. ASX 200 lagged with price action rangebound as the outperformance in tech and telecoms was overshadowed by weakness in mining, resources, materials, utilities and energy, while a quiet calendar and lack of drivers kept the index in check. Nikkei 225 shrugged off the disappointing Household Spending data from Japan and briefly returned to above the 65,000 level amid lower yields and after a source report noted that the BoJ favours a 25bps rate hike this month and a flexible future pace, which helped ease concerns of a more aggressive move. KOSPI rallied amid strength in tech heavyweights with notable gains in SK Hynix, while Samsung Electronics was also firmer after industry data showed it narrowed the gap with market leader SK Hynix in the global HBM market during Q2. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were underpinned with the Hong Kong benchmark spearheading the advances alongside strength in property, tech and auto stocks, while the gains in the mainland were limited after the PBoC continued to drain liquidity with today's open market operations amount remaining at zero.

South Korea-US Investment - South Korea's Industry Ministry says 4 US companies have committed USD 2bln collectively of investment across its semiconductor, advanced materials and energy sector. The US companies include Air Products (APD), Axcelis (ACLS), Corning (GLW) and Pacifico Energy (PEMC). (Reuters)

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.27% at 6,379, DAX +0.65% at 26,008, CAC 40 +0.07% at 8,286, FTSE 100 +0.70% at 10,832, SMI +0.22% at 14,395, FTSE MIB +0.88% at 52,245, IBEX 35 +1.12% at 20,000, PSI -0.04% at 9,402, AEX +0.09% at 1,105.

Barclays (BARC LN) - Co. announces the launch of a private bank booking centre in Singapore. (Barclays)

HSBC (HSBA LN) - Co. prices a JPY 54.3bln Samurai bond sale in 3 parts, according to Reuters. (Reuters)

UK-US Trade - USTR Greer told the FT that the UK is choosing the EU over the US, which is causing a problem for the UK to expand a trade deal with the US. Greer said the UK had failed to take advantage of Brexit by aligning with EU-made rules and closing its market to American goods and still had “pretty high tariffs”. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Glencore (GLEN LN) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Freedom Capital Markets

Pets at Home (PETS LN) initiated with Buy at Shore Capital

Shell (SHEL LN) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

BASF (BAS GY) - Co. has filed a lawsuit against Apple (AAPL) for infringing a patent license on face authentication technology. (Reuters)

Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) - Co.'s Board has approved Future Plan 2030, a plan that will include cutting another 50,000 jobs. CEO says "over the coming years, we will invest a three-figure billion sum to make our iconic brands even more attractive, stronger and more competitive.” The primary financial target is an operating margin of 9% by 2030. This corresponds to operating profit of around EUR 31bln and a target of EUR 135bln for investment over the planning period from 2027-31. (Volkswagen)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

TUI (TUI1 GY) - Co. affirms its FY26 guidance, sees underlying EBIT between EUR 1.1-1.4bln. (TUI)

BROKER MOVES

Eiffage (FGR FP) - Co. has secured the contract to build an arch structure and a moveable structure for the new West Merwede Bridge in the Netherlands; completion scheduled 2030. (Eiffage)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Vivendi (VIV FP) - H1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 140mln (prev. 145mln Y/Y), EBITA 4mln (prev. 18mln Y/Y), EBIT -10mln (prev. 5mln Y/Y). (Vivendi)

BROKER MOVES

Gaztransport (GTT FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg

ASML (ASML NA) - Fitch affirms ASML at 'A+'; outlook stable. ASML's ratings reflect its outstanding positions in lithography tools that are critical to mass semiconductor manufacturing, its unrivalled technological leadership in the sub-segment of most advanced EUV tools, and a supportive outlook for the semiconductor industry. (Fitch)

Automakers - The head of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation has urged US lawmakers, in a letter, to ban Chinese connected cars as well as related vehicle software and hardware from the US before the current legislative session ends, Bloomberg reports. The alliance represents domestic carmakers including General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor (7203 JT) and Volkswagen (VOW3 GY). (Bloomberg)

BMPS (BMPS IM), Mediobanca (MB IM) - BMPS announces that it has received authorisation from the ECB regarding the merger by absorption of Mediobanca into Monte dei Paschi and the other corporate reorganisation measures. The merger is to be put to a vote at the general meeting on October 29th. (BMPS)

Poste Italiane (PST IM) - BlackRock (BLK) reports a 5.02% stake in the Co., Milano Finanza reports. (Milano Finanza)

Sandoz (SDZ SW), Bayer (BAYN GY) - The US FDA says it is working with manufacturers to increase the supply of estradiol transdermal patches after reports of patients having difficulty in accessing them. (Reuters)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP) - Co. is accelerating its alliance with Huawei and JAC in China as part of a relaunch plan, with the project including the Maextro brand, however an agreement has not yet been signed, according to Milano Finanza citing sources. (Milano Finanza)

BROKER MOVES

Roche (ROP SW) - Congo's National Institute of Public Health says Roche will install a LightCycler diagnostic system and provide technical support and training to help contain Ebola. (Bloomberg)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

BROKER MOVES

Elisa (ELISA FH) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

Neste (NESTE FH) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, citing rising geopolitical disruption and structural refining tightness.

Telenor (TEL NO) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

CLOSES: SPX +1.06% at 7,748, NDX +1.16% at 29,482, DJI +1.18% at 53,691, RUT +0.51% at 2,968

SECTORS: Energy -0.72%, Materials -0.46%, Consumer staples flat, Health +0.19%, Utilities +0.85%, Industrials +1.04%, Technology +1.25%, Real estate +1.26%, Communication services +1.51%, Financials +1.55%, Consumer discretionary +1.58%

Lululemon (LULU) - Lululemon shares fell 18% in extended US trading after revenue missed expectations, comparable sales declined, and the company sharply cut its Q3 and FY outlooks, citing weaker North American demand, inconsistent product response and a slow start to the current quarter. Q2 EPS 2.92 (exp. 1.79), Q2 revenue USD 2.42bln (exp. 2.46bln). Q2 comp sales -9% Y/Y, Americas comps -12% Y/Y, international comps -3% Y/Y. Q2 gross margin increased 5.6%, helped by a USD 134.5mln tariff refund. Execs said product-launch response remains inconsistent, with greater than expected weakness in core categories, while management is increasing marketing investment, introducing new styles and tightening inventory. Sees Q3 EPS between 0.93-0.98 (exp. 2.48), sees Q3 revenue between USD 2.29-2.32bln (exp. 2.54bln); sees Q3 North America comps down mid-teens, and Q3 gross margin down approximately 250bps Y/Y. Lowers FY26 EPS view to between 9.48-9.73 (exp. 10.98; prev. saw 10.95-11.15), lowers FY26 revenue view to between USD 10.35-10.50bln (exp. 11.03bln; prev. saw 11.0-11.15bln), and sees FY26 gross margin down approximately 80bps Y/Y.

T-Mobile US (TMUS) - T-Mobile announced that Jessica Uhl will join as CFO Designate in mid-September, and succeed Peter Osvaldik as CFO in February 2027. T-Mobile reaffirmed its FY26 guidance, capital return programme and long-term financial framework.

This is the standard pre-open wrap rather than a single event, and its function on the desk is what it has always been: to carry overnight Asia, the prior US close and the morning's corporate tape into the European session in one place. The macro through-lines are familiar ones. A Fed official leaving a near-term hold in play, softer yields and a source report framing the BoJ's next step as a standard-sized move rather than an aggressive one is the combination that has historically underpinned risk into payrolls, with the jobs print itself the obvious catalyst that either validates or unwinds the positioning. The corporate items split into cases that behave differently: VW's restructuring headline is of the type that European autos have tended to reward initially on cost-out credibility, with delivery risk back-loaded over a multi-year plan, while the Lululemon gap lower is the established pattern for a consumer name guiding down on North American demand, where the read-across runs to the apparel and discretionary peer set rather than the index. The BMPS and Mediobanca authorisation keeps the long-running Italian bank consolidation sequence on its procedural track, with the shareholder vote the next dated waypoint. Items worth attention as follow-ons are the US labour data, any confirmation of the BoJ source reporting, and whether the UK-US trade rhetoric develops into anything beyond commentary.