Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 13th March 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks were mostly subdued with the region cautious amid headwinds from the recent double-digit surge in oil prices after Iran's new Supreme Leader dug in and called for a continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as warned that other fronts will be opened if the war persists, while the US also initiated 60 Section 301 investigations related to failures to take action on forced labour. ASX 200 traded indecisively as strength in financials and energy offset the losses in mining and materials. Nikkei 225 underperformed as oil and inflationary-related pressures weighed on the large exporting industries, including tech and autos, with Honda among the worst hit after it cancelled three planned EV launches in North America and revised its FY25/26 outlook to a loss of as much as JPY 690bln from the previous guidance of JPY 300bln profit. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were lacklustre in rangebound trade with a lack of conviction heading into talks between US Treasury Secretary Bessent, USTR Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris beginning on Sunday.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.69% at 5,755, Dax 40 +0.06% at 23,601, FTSE 100 -0.44% at 10,309, CAC 40 -0.71% at 7,984, FTSE MIB -0.64% at 44,488, IBEX 35 -1.20% at 17,144, PSI +0.83% at 9,152, SMI -0.56% at 12,850, AEX -0.23% at 1,001

SECTORS: Energy 2.17%, Utilities 1.81%, Materials 0.61%, Consumer Stpl 0.24%, Telecoms 0.07%, Industrials -0.47%, IT -0.56%, Consumer Disc -0.70%, Healthcare -1.32%, Financials -2.17%

FTSE 100

BP (BP/ LN) - Senegal's PM says BP operated GTA gas contract was one sided and unfair; some oil and gas exploration licenses cancelled; more will follow. (Newswires)

Glencore (GLEN LN), Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Glencore CEO hopes higher coal prices will support renewed merger talks with Rio Tinto after talks on a USD 240bln combination ended in February over valuation, Reuters reports. Under UK rules, talks cannot resume until August. (Reuters)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Rio Tinto confirmed the death of a contract worker following an incident at the Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah on 12th March. The company suspended all surface and underground mining operations at Kennecott, and said it is working with authorities on an investigation. (Rio Tinto)

Shell (SHEL LN) - Shell-led LNG Canada said it experienced an unplanned flaring event on Thursday, and is expected to continue for a week. (Shell)

UK Stocks - UK Chancellor Reeves is to make another push for Britain to secure greater access to the single market next week, amid renewed trade strains between UK and EU, according to FT. (FT)

UK Energy - UK Chancellor Reeves and Energy Secretary Miliband urged petrol retailers and energy suppliers to restrain price increases as the UK government seeks to limit the economic impact of the Iran war. They will meet firms in Downing Street on Friday. Reeves has also asked the CMA to remain on high alert for unjustifiable rises in petrol, diesel and heating oil prices.

Unilever (ULVR LN) - Unilever plans to change CEO Fernandez’ pay to reward outperformance and attract more US talent, Bloomberg reports. The proposal would reduce short term compensation, while increasing the potential payout from long-term incentives. (Bloomberg)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Admiral (ADM LN) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC

Capita (CPI LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Vivendi (VIV FP) - FY 2025 (EUR): Revenue 307mln (exp. 306.1mln), EBITA +45mln (exp. 59mln, prev. -1mln Y/Y). Vivendi enters 2026 having reduced its financial net debt by more than EUR 1bln over the past year, to EUR 1.5bln as of December 31, 2025. We remain committed to our strategy of developing businesses we control and of actively managing our portfolio of investments, while exploring new opportunities for value creation”. (Vivendi)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Beauty names / Beiersdorf (BEI GY) / L'Oreal (OR FP) - Ulta Beauty shares fell over 8% in extended trading after it issued FY guidance at the low end of expectations, including a cautious outlook for comp sales. Details in the US section below

Critical Minerals - The US, Japan and the EU are set to announce plans in coming weeks to lay the groundwork for a critical minerals trade agreement, according to Bloomberg. The proposed deal is expected to include a price floor and tariffs to counter market distortions by China. (Bloomberg)

Repsol (REP SM) - Venezuela and Repsol signed strategic agreements, while Venezuela's interim president Rodriguez says that the deal can make Venezuela a gas exporter. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Avolta (AVOL SW) - Launches its previously announced public share buyback program of up to CHF 225mln on March 16, 2026. (Avolta)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Kesko (KESKOB FH) – February SSS +3% Y/Y. (Kesko)

BROKER MOVES

Ericsson (ERICB SS) upgraded to Buy from Hold by Nordea

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.52% at 6,673, NDX -1.73% at 24,534, DJI -1.56% at 46,678, RUT -2.12% at 2,489

SECTORS: Industrials -2.52%, Consumer Discretionary -2.21%, Health -1.76%, Technology -1.72%, Communication Services -1.63%, Financials -1.62%, Real Estate -0.63%, Materials -0.36%, Consumer Staples +0.09%, Utilities +0.73%, Energy +0.98%.

Adobe (ADBE) - Adobe shares fell 8.6% in extended trading after it announced that CEO Shantanu Narayen will step down. Narayen will transition from the CEO role once a successor is appointed and will remain chair, with Frank Calderoni appointed to lead the special committee overseeing succession. It reported Q1 adj. EPS of 6.06 (exp. 5.86), Q1 revenue of USD 6.4bln (exp. 6.28bln). Operating income was USD 3.04bln (exp. 2.95bln), subscription revenue grew 13% Y/Y, AI-first ARR more than tripled Y/Y, creative freemium MAU crossed 80mln (+50% Y/Y), and total monthly active users surpassed 850mln (+17% Y/Y). Retail site traffic from LLMs increased nearly 7x during the 2025 holiday season, with referrals converting 31% higher and generating 254% more revenue per visit, although the traditional Stock business saw a deeper-than-expected decline in Q1. It reaffirmed FY26 targets, sees Q2 adj. EPS between 5.80-5.85 (exp. 5.69). (Adobe)

ByteDance, Nvidia (NVDA) - ByteDance is building AI computing capacity outside China using high-end Nvidia Blackwell chips as it pursues global expansion, WSJ reports. It is working with Malaysia-based Aolani Cloud on plans to use about 500 Nvidia Blackwell systems in Malaysia, totalling around 36,000 B200 chips, according to the Journal. (WSJ)

Samsung Electronics (SSNLF), Nvidia (NVDA) - Samsung and Nvidia are accelerating next-generation ferroelectric NAND development through a jointly developed AI system that analyses device performance more than 10,000 times faster than conventional methods, reducing task time from 60 hours to under 10 seconds, according to reports in Korean media.

Trade - USTR confirms to start 60 Section 301 investigations related to failures to take action on forced labour. (Newswires)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) - Shares fell over 8% in extended trading after it issued FY guidance at the low end of expectations, including a cautious outlook for comp sales. It reported Q4 EPS of 8.01 (exp. 8.02), Q4 revenue USD 3.90bln (exp. 3.82bln); Q4 comp sales +5.8% in Q4, and 5.4% for the FY. Execs said it continued market share gains, closing the year with momentum. Sees FY26 EPS between 28.05-28.55 (exp. 28.47), FY26 revenue seen between USD 13.14-13.26bln (exp. 13.13bln), FY26 comp sales growth seen between +2.5-3.5%, sees FY26 capex between USD 400-450mln. (Ulta Beauty)

13 Mar 2026 - 06:48- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk