Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 15th April 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks were mostly higher as the region took its cue from the rally on Wall St amid continued hopes regarding US-Iran talks, while President Trump suggested talks could occur during the next two days. ASX 200 eked mild gains, but with upside capped as strength in tech, gold miners and health care was offset by losses in energy and some defensives, while trade was also restricted by a lack of data and drivers. Nikkei 225 rallied above the 58,000 level, with the positive risk sentiment facilitated by the recent decline in oil prices and the much stronger-than-expected Machinery Orders. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were positive with the gains in Hong Kong led by tech strength, while oil majors lagged after the recent oil decline. Furthermore, the PBoC continued its meagre daily liquidity efforts through 7-day reverse repo operations, but had announced yesterday to conduct CNY 500bln of 183-day outright reverse repos for today.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +1.32% at 5,983, Dax 40 +1.23% at 24,034, FTSE 100 +0.25% at 10,609, CAC 40 +1.12% at 8,328, FTSE MIB +1.36% at 48,176, IBEX 35 +1.46% at 18,286, PSI +0.03% at 9,362, SMI +0.93% at 13,268, AEX +0.75% at 1,020.

SECTORS: IT 1.79%, Industrials 1.65%, Financials 1.56%, Consumer Disc 1.16%, Healthcare 0.96%, Materials 0.72%, Telecoms 0.24%, Consumer Stpl 0.09%, Utilities 0.05%, Energy -2.58% 

FTSE 100

LSEG (LSEG LN) - CEO Hogget told Bloomberg that they have the biggest IPO pipeline since 2005. (Bloomberg)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Anglo American (AAL LN) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Oddo Securities

Antofagasta (ANTO LN) initiated with Neutral at Oddo Securities

Entain (ENT LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Peel Hunt

Imperial Brands (IMB LN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

DAX

Allianz SE (ALV GY) / Blue Owl (OWL) - Pimco bought the full USD 400mln bond sale issued on Monday by a Blue Owl Capital private credit fund, Bloomberg reports; the purchase comes during a sell-off that has pushed spreads on similar fund notes to multiyear highs amid concerns over lending standards and software-sector exposure to AI disruption. (Bloomberg)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Aixtron (AIXA GY) - Q1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 59mln (exp. 67.5mln), Orders 171mln (prev. 132.2mln Y/Y). Raises guidance: Now expects to generate revenues of around EUR 560mln in a range of plus/minus EUR 30mln (previously EUR 520mln in a range of plus/minus EUR 30mln). (Aixtron)

Evotec (EVT GY) - Co. appointed Dr. Ingrid Muller as COO, effective immediately. (Evotec)

Fraport (FRA GY) - Frankfurt airport passenger 4.72mln, +2.1% Y/Y. Around 100,000 passengers at Frankfurt were affected by Lufthansa strikes that took place in mid-March. The consequences of the Iran war led to a significant 68.6% fall in traffic bound for the Middle East during the reporting month. (Fraport)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - Co. proposes Amparo Moraleda as Chair successor, effective October 1st, 2026. (Newswires)

Kering (KER FP) - Q1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 3.57bln (exp. 3.56bln), Fashion & Leather Goods Revenue 2.85bln (prev. 3.13bln Y/Y), Gucci revenue 1.35bln (exp. 1.37bln, prev. 1.57bln), Gucci comp revenue -8% (exp. -4.28%). In Q1, retail revenue in the Middle East declined by 11%, following growth over the first two months of the year. North America was the strongest at +9% comparable, while Western Europe -7% due to softer tourist flows. On the outlook, the objective remains to return to growth and improve margins. (Kering)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Covivo (COV FP) - Q1 2026 (EUR): RevPAR +3.6% Y/Y, driven primarily by an increase in average room rates of around +2%; acquires four hotels in Milan for EUR 217mln. (Covivo)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Aegon (AGN NA) - Co. to sell Aegon UK to Standard Life for a total consideration of GBP 2bln. (Aegon)

ASML (ASML NA) - Q1 2026 (EUR): Sales 8.77bln (exp. 8.55bln, guided 8.2-8.9bln), Net Profit 2.76bln (exp. 2.58bln), guides Q2 2026 Revenue 8.4-9.0bln (exp. 9.08bln), sees FY26 Sales 36-40bln (prev. guided 34-39bln), sees Q2 gross margin between 51-52% and FY26 gross margin between 51-53%. CEO: "The semiconductor industry's growth outlook continues to solidify, driven by ongoing AI-related infrastructure investments. Demand for chips is outpacing supply. ASML's order intake continues to be very strong as a result, and we are closely aligned with our customers to support their demand in a combination of delivery of new systems and performance upgrades of their installed base." (ASML) ASML (ASML NA) shares -3% in pre-market trade. Weightings: 3.67% in STOXX 600; 7.50% in Euro Stoxx 50; 32.61% in STXE 600 (Tech). An investor call, involving both its CEO and CFO, will start at 14:00 BST / 09:00 EDT

BBVA (BBVA SM) - The bank has received a new communication from the Bank of Spain regarding its Minimum Requirements for own funds and Eligible Liabilities. The Single Resolution Board set the requirement at 23.94% of total risk-weighted assets for BBVA’s resolution group on a sub-consolidated level. The bank must meet 13.50% of total risk-weighted assets with subordinated instruments. (BBVA)

UCB (UCB BB) - UCB presents new data demonstrating quality-of-life impacts for epilepsy patients and caregivers at AAN 2026 meeting. (UCB)

BROKER MOVES

Ageas (AGS BB) downgraded to Hold from Buy at ING

BBVA (BBVA SM) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

CaixaBank (CABK SM) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

SMI

ABB (ABBN SW) - Co. awarded a contract to deliver GMD and RMD technology for Harmony’s Eva Copper Mine Project, Queensland. Eva Copper is set to become a major new copper mine in the region, producing approximately 60,000 tons of copper annually over a minimum 15-year mine life. The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2025, financial details were not disclosed. (ABB)

UBS (UBSG SW) - CEO Ermotti could remain as UBS CEO well into second half of 2027 to steer bank through regulatory overhaul, according to Reuters citing sources. (Reuters)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

DKSH (DKSH SW) - Co. to acquire Kinematic Resources in Malaysia. (DKSH)

Helvetia Baloise (HBAN SW) - FY 2025 (CHF): Underlying Earnings 633.4mln (prev. 528.6mln Y/Y), Dividend/shr 7.70, +5.4% Y/Y. The integration of Helvetia and Baloise is progressing as planned. By the end of 2025, CHF 139 million of synergies and efficiencies had been realised on a run-rate basis. (Helvetia Baloise)

Sandoz (SDZ SW) - Co. signs landmark agreement with Rwandan government to ensure stable provision of critical medicines across selected African markets. (Sandoz)

BROKER MOVES

Givaudan (GIVN SW) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

Swisscom (SCMN SW) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

SCANDINAVIA

Tryg (TRYG DC) - Q1 2026 (DKK): EPS 1.56 (exp. 1.38), PBT 1.27bln (prev. 1.49bln Y/Y). (Tryg)

BROKER MOVES

Equinor (EQNR NO) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Danske Bank

Husqvarna (HUSQB SS) upgraded to Hold from Sell at SEB

Norsk Hydro (NHY NO) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

Telenor (TEL NO) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

US

CLOSES: SPX +1.17% at 6,967, NDX +1.81% at 25,842, DJI +0.66% at 48,536, RUT +1.29% at 2,705

SECTORS: Energy -2.16%, Materials -0.33%, Consumer Staples -0.23%, Utilities +0.18%, Financials +0.20%, Industrials +0.34%, Health +0.50%, Real Estate +0.85%, Technology +1.66%, Consumer Discretionary +2.54%, Communication Services +3.18%.

Broadcom (AVGO), Meta Platforms (META) - Meta expanded its multibillion-dollar partnership with Broadcom to design and build custom chips for its AI efforts, Bloomberg reports. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan will also leave Meta’s board when his term expires at the company’s annual meeting. (Bloomberg)

Disney (DIS) - Disney is laying off about 1,000 employees this week to streamline operations, mainly following the creation of a unified enterprise marketing division, Variety reports. CEO D’Amaro said the move aims to build a more agile, technologically enabled workforce. (Variety)

Procter & Gamble (PG) - Procter & Gamble raised its quarterly dividend +3% to USD 1.0885/shr. (Newswires)

Uber Technologies (UBER) - The FT notes that Uber has committed more than USD 10bln to buy thousands of autonomous vehicles and take stakes in their developers to counter disruption from robotaxis. The plan includes over USD 2.5bln in equity stakes, and more than USD 7.5bln on fleets, with robotaxi services targeted in at least 28 cities by 2028. (FT)

15 Apr 2026 - 06:59- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk