Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 14th April 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks traded higher as risk sentiment was underpinned by hopes regarding US-Iran peace talks after President Trump suggested Iran called the US and wants to make a deal very badly, while a US official said that talks between the sides are continuing even now and there is progress, with some reports also noting that the second round of face-to-face talks could take place this Thursday, although there hasn't been any confirmation. ASX 200 was lifted by outperformance in tech and miners, but with the upside capped following a deterioration in Australian Consumer Sentiment and Business Confidence surveys. Nikkei 225 rallied to just shy of the 58,000 level with tech-related stocks dominating the list of best performers, including SoftBank, Advantest, NEC Corp and Renesas, all in the top five biggest gainers. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp gained, but with the advances limited as participants also digested mixed Chinese trade data, in which exports disappointed and imports surged, while China Customs Vice Minister said the international situation is currently turbulent, geopolitical conflicts are intensifying and global oil prices fluctuate sharply.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.35% at 5,906, Dax 40 -0.23% at 23,749, FTSE 100 -0.17% at 10,583, CAC 40 -0.29% at 8,236, FTSE MIB -0.17% at 47,527, IBEX 35 -0.99% at 18,024, PSI -1.04% at 9,360, SMI -0.32% at 13,148, AEX +0.19% at 1,012

SECTORS: Energy 1.26%, IT 0.31%, Financials 0.17%, Industrials -0.02%, Materials -0.35%, Healthcare -0.38%, Consumer Disc -0.52%, Consumer Stpl -0.67%, Utilities -1.16%, Telecoms -2.30%

FTSE 100

Antofagasta (ANTO LN) - Antofagasta CEO said the Chilean miner is at an early stage of evaluating opportunities in Argentina, considering standalone exploration or partnerships with existing projects such as Glencore's (GLEN LN) El Pachon, which borders Antofagasta's flagship Chilean mine, Bloomberg reports. (Bloomberg)

Retail - UK BRC Retail Sales Monitor YoY (Mar) Y/Y 3.1% vs. Exp. 0.9% (Prev. 0.7%)

Shell (SHEL LN) - Co. is reportedly expected to sign a deal to develop the Loran gas field in Venezuela, Reuters reported citing sources. (Reuters)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Barratt Redrow (BTRW LN) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Berkeley (BKG LN) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Glencore (GLEN LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC

DAX

Allianz (ALV GY) - President Trump intends to nominate PIMCO managing director and portfolio manager Erin Browne as Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs, Treasury Secretary Bessent said. (Newswires)

German Materials / Heidelberg Materials (HEI GY) - Germany's Expert Council for Environmental Issues has reportedly proposed a tax on materials used in primary buildings; the German Environment Minister rejected the idea of further tax hikes. (Handelsblatt)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Kontron (KTN GY) – Co. secures EUR 20mln Cybersecurity contract. (Kontron)

Nemetschek (NEM GY) – Co. to acquire HCSS; This strategic move will significantly expand the Build & Construct segment’s total market opportunity to an estimated USD 12bln by 2028. (Nemetschek)

Nordex Group (NDX1 GY) - Co. announces 1.9 GW of order intake in the first quarter 2026. Overall stable pricing environment continued. (Nordex)

BROKER MOVES

Continental (CON GY) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

Henkel (HEN3 GY) reinstated with Underperform at Bank of America

SAP (SAP GY) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler

CAC

LVMH (MC FP) - Q1 2026 (EUR): Total Revenue 19.12bln (exp. 19.49bln); Fashion & Leather organic sales -2% (exp. -0.5%). Q1: Fashion and Leather goods sales 9.25bln (exp. 9.46bln), Perfumes and cosmetics sales 2.04bln (exp. 2.10bln), Watches and jewellery sales 2.44bln (exp. 2.46bln), Selective retailing sales 4.05bln (exp. 4.19bln), Wines and Spirits sales 1.27bln (exp. 1.23bln). Commentary: China improved further, trading during Chinese New Year was good. US demand is holding up despite middle East conflict. Middle East conflict had a negative impact of around 1% on Q1 organic growth. Amid a geopolitical and economic environment particularly disrupted by the conflict in the Middle East, LVMH remains vigilant yet confident. The United States experienced a good start to the year. In Europe and Japan, resilient local demand helped to partly offset lower tourist spending. Asia (excluding Japan) saw strong growth, confirming the improvement in trends observed starting in the second half of 2025. (LVMH) Co. holds a 0.96% weighting in the STOXX 600; 1.966% in the Euro Stoxx 50; 22.88% in Consumer Products sector (largest weighting) LVMH US ADR fell 4.5% post-earnings; shares +1.81% in pre-market trade

Publicis (PUB FP) - Trading Update Q1 (EUR): Revenue 4.19bln (prev. 4.16bln Y/Y). Expecting sequential acceleration in net revenue organic growth in Q2’26. Reaffirms FY26 guidance. All key regions performing well: U.S. at +4.7%, Europe at +3.9%, Asia-Pacific at +5.9%. (Publicis)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Eurofins Scientific (ERF FP) - UL Solutions announced that it has entered an agreement with Eurofins to acquire the electrical and electronics business of Eurofins, with the purchase price of around EUR 575mln. (Business Wire)

BROKER MOVES

LVMH (MC FP) reiterated with Hold at Jefferies

Michelin (ML FP) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays

Safran (SAF FP) initiated with Neutral at BNP Paribas

PAN EUROPE

BMPS (BMPS IM) - BlackRock, which holds a 4.9% stake in the Co., has decided to back a proposal to reinstate Luigi Lovaglio, according to ANSA. (ANSA)

JDE Peets (JDEP NA) - Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) announced results of post-closing acceptance period for offer for JDE Peet's, with 97.75% of all shares tendered. (Keurig Dr Pepper)

Pirelli (PIRC IM) - China’s Sinochem announced that it would look to lodge an appeal against the Italian government, for setting limits over the company’s power in the company. (Newswires)

Steel Names – EU reached a provisional agreement on measures to limit steel imports. (Newswires)

Stellantis (STLAM IM / STLAP FP) - Co. is planning to finalise the exit from the Symbio JV, costing Stellantis EUR 235mln, as the carmaker ends its hydrogen fuel cell technology programme. (Les Echos)

Telecom Italia (TIT IM) - TIM’s Board of Directors met today under the chairmanship of Alberta Figari and appointed the advisors to examine the full voluntary public tender and exchange offer launched by Poste Italiane. In particular, Evercore and Goldman Sachs will act as financial advisors to the Board in its analysis and assessment of tender and exchange offer, whilst Bonelli Erede and Gatti Pavesi Bianchi Ludovici will act as legal advisors. (Telecom Italia)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Givaudan (GIVN SW) - Q1 2026 (CHF): Revenue 1.88bln (exp. 1.87bln), Fragrance & Beauty 1.0bln (prev. 1.01bln Y/Y), LFL Sales +2.8% (prev. +7.4% Y/Y), Co. will be implementing price increases in collaboration with its customers to fully compensate for the increases in input costs. Affirms its 2030 targets, LFL sales growth between 4-6% and over 12% average FCF. (Givaudan)

Sika (SIKA SW) - Q1 2026 (CHF): Net Sales 2.49bln (exp. 2.45bln, prev. 2.68bln Y/Y), affirms its 2026 outlook, sales growth between 1-4% in local currencies and EBITDA margin of 19.5-20% expected. To add, the Co. confirms 2028 strategic medium-term targets. CEO: "We are watchful on the impact of events in the Middle East. We expect global market conditions to remain muted in 2026 and we are acting pre-emptively." (Sika)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

PolyPeptide Group AG (PPGN SW) – Co. takes note of market rumours and speculation. As part of its fiduciary duties, the Board of Directors regularly assesses the Company’s strategic positioning and options to further enhance long-term value creation. In this context, the Board of Directors, in coordination with the Company’s majority shareholder, Draupnir Holding B.V., is conducting a review of potential strategic options. The review is at an early stage, and no decision has been made. There can be no assurances that the review will continue or that it will result in any transaction or other outcome. (PolyPeptide)

BROKER MOVES

Nestle (NESN SW) reinstated with Buy at Bank of America

Partners Group (PGHN SW) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

Temenos (TEMN SW) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi

VAT Group (VACN SW) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Oddo Securities

SCANDINAVIA

Maersk (MAERSKB DC) - Co. announces the temporarily revision of rates for cargo insurance and cargo care for shipments loaded or discharged in ports of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Lebanon and Israel. (Maersk)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX +1.03% at 6,887, NDX +1.07% at 25,284, DJI +0.63% at 48,219, RUT +1.43% at 2,668.

SECTORS: Financials +1.73%, Technology +1.72%, Consumer Discretionary +0.85%, Communication Services +0.78%, Industrials +0.76%, Real Estate +0.52%, Health +0.46%, Energy +0.33%, Materials +0.22%, Consumer Staples -1.04%, Utilities -1.19%.

Chevron (CVX) - Chevron has agreed an asset swap with PDVSA in Venezuela, under which it will increase its stake in the Petroindependencia JV to 49% and gain rights to develop the Ayacucho 8 area in the Orinoco Oil Belt. In exchange, Venezuela will receive Chevron's interests in offshore Plataforma Deltana Block 2 and Block 3 gas licences and its 25.2% stake in the Petroindependencia joint venture in western Venezuela.

FedEx (FDX) - FedEx CFO John Dietrich will step down on 1st June following the spin-off of FedEx Freight, remaining with the company until 31st July. Claude Russ, enterprise vice president of Finance, will serve as interim CFO while a successor search is conducted. FedEx also reaffirmed its FY26 outlook and 2029 targets shared at its February Investor Day.

Globalstar (GSAT), Amazon (AMZN) - Amazon is in advanced talks to acquire satellite telecom group Globalstar, in a move to bolster its own satellite operation and rival Elon Musk's Starlink, with a deal potentially announced as soon as Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Nvidia (NVDA) - Nvidia denied reports that it is in discussions to acquire a PC manufacturer, calling the claims false. Dell Technologies (DELL) and HP Inc. (HPQ) shares had risen following the initial reports, before falling more than 3% in after-hours trading after the denial was issued.

United Airlines (UAL), American Airlines (AAL) - United Airlines CEO pitched a possible merger with American Airlines to senior government officials, though it is unclear whether formal overture have been made, or a deal process is underway, according to Bloomberg. Any combination would face intense regulatory scrutiny even under the Trump administration, the report adds. (Bloomberg)

Tesla (TSLA) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS

14 Apr 2026 - 06:58- Geopolitical- Source: Newsquawk