Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 17th April 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks were mostly lower as markets lost steam following the recent rallies and with participants paring risk heading into the weekend, despite the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire taking effect and optimism by US President Trump regarding a deal between the US and Iran, which he said could resume talks over the weekend. ASX 200 was subdued with weakness seen in gold miners, financials and the consumer sectors, although the downside is limited amid a lack of fresh catalysts and a quiet data calendar. Nikkei 225 pulled back from its all-time record highs and just about returned to beneath the 59,000 level, with underperformance seen in some miners, manufacturers and semiconductor names. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the uninspired mood with the Hong Kong benchmark dragged lower by tech weakness, while participants also digested some earnings releases, including from Kweichow Moutai, which reported a 5% drop in FY profit.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.04% at 5,938, Dax 40 +0.35% at 24,151, FTSE 100 +0.29% at 10,590, CAC 40 -0.14% at 8,263, FTSE MIB -0.27% at 48,027, IBEX 35 -0.51% at 18,093, PSI -1.21% at 9,233, SMI -0.44% at 13,171, AEX +0.11% at 1,017

SECTORS: Energy 1.40%, Telecoms 1.01%, IT 0.99%, Materials 0.35%, Consumer Disc 0.34%, Industrials -0.19%, Consumer Stpl -0.28%, Healthcare -0.38%, Financials -0.56%, Utilities -0.86%

FTSE 100

Antofagasta (ANTO LN) - The US Senate narrowly voted to overturn former President Biden's mining ban in northern Minnesota, reversing the 20-year block of mining across 255,504 minerals-rich acres and boost the Co.'s Twin Metals copper, cobalt and nickel projects. (Reuters)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Reckitt (RKT LN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux

DAX

Adidas (ADS GY) - Kommersant reports that Adidas’ Russian subsidiary earned over RUB 2bln, after exiting the local area years ago. This increase is not related to the resumption of sales in Russia, but rather interest income on bank deposits. (Kommersant)

Deutsche Bank (DBK GY) - A threat actor is reportedly offering a 26K credential combo list allegedly linked to Deutsche Bank accounts on a dark web forum, claimed to include over 26,000 username-password pairs, though the data remains unverified and likely aggregated rather than from a direct breach. (X) Please note that this story is UNCONFIRMED

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Delivery Hero (DHER GY) - Uber (UBER) is reportedly said to acquire an additional 4.5% from Prosus (PRX NA) in the Co. in a EUR 270mln deal at EUR 20/shr. (FT)

BROKER MOVES

Aurubis (NDA GY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux

Deutsche Boerse (DB1 GY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America

CAC

Eiffage (FGR FP) - Co. has been awarded a contract worth over EUR 100mln for the Port of Callao Muelle Norte expansion project in Peru. (Eiffage)

Kering (KER FP) - CEO says it plans to launch smart glasses under Gucci brand in partnership with Google (GOOGL), probably next year. (Newswires)

Vinci (DG FP) - Reports Q1 airports passenger traffic 74mln, +1.5% Y/Y. (Vinci)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Alstom (ALO FP) - FY 2025/26 (EUR): Revenue 19.2bln (exp. 19.0bln, prev. 18.5bln Y/Y), Orders 27.6bln (prev. 19.8bln Y/Y), Adj. EBIT margin around 6% (prev. 6.4% Y/Y). Guides initial FY 2026/27 sales organic growth around 5%, adj. EBIT margin around 6.5%, withdraws three-year FCF guidance. The medium-term ambition of adjusted EBIT margin of 8-10% will no longer be met by FY 2026/27. (Alstom)

Aeroports de Paris (ADP FP) - Reports March passenger traffic 27.8mln, +1.0% Y/Y. (ADP)

Ubisoft (UBI FP) - 'Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced' will launch on 9th July, according to Insider Gaming. Ubisoft has postponed its official announcement until next week. The remake has been completely reworked with new content but will not be an RPG, remaining a solo, character-driven experience. (Insider Gaming)

BROKER MOVES

STMicroelectronics (STMPA FP) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Mizuho

PAN EUROPE

Aena (AENA SM) - The Company announces the ratification and re-election of Directors at the Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting, the appointment of the Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO, and appointments to the Executive Committee. (Aena)

Bpost (BPOST BB) - Agreement was reached following a meeting between management and unions. Key elements: The majority of services will end around 5 p.m. Guarantee of maintaining titular status. Guarantee of services spread over 5 days with a fixed schedule. Creation by the company of an internal pool to minimize reliance on subcontracting. Agreement on an increase of meal vouchers by EUR 2 within the framework of the collective labour agreement (CLA). (Bpost)

M&A - EU is planning its biggest relaxation of corporate merger rules in decades, while EU competition commissioner Ribera says merger rules are to favour scale and innovation, according to FT. (FT) Follows similar reporting from Thursday.

BROKER MOVES

ASML (ASML NA) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Freedom Broker; PT raised to USD 1650 (prev. USD 950); analysts sees improving visibility following recent earnings, adding that the Co. is experiencing "durable demand signals”.

Eni (ENI IM) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas

SMI

UBS Group (UBSG SW) - UBS senior wealth banker Lionel Yoong has left the firm, adding to recent departures from the team covering Indonesia from Singapore, Bloomberg reports. He is the third Indonesia market head to leave since the start of last year, and UBS has not replaced the other two who departed in 2025. (Bloomberg)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Adecco (ADEN SW) - Co. has successfully placed EUR 450mln hybrid bonds, with the intention to use the net proceeds from the new hybrid issuance for general corporate purposes including the repayment of its existing hybrid security. (Adecco)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Ericsson (ERICB SS) - Q1 2026 (SEK): Adj. EBIT 5.21bln (exp. 5.55bln), Revenue 49.3bln (exp. 51.0bln), Gross Margin 47.2% (prev. 48.5% Y/Y), announces a SEK 15bln share buyback programme, set to commence on April 23rd. Notes of higher input costs, especially for semiconductors. CEO: “Our Q1 results demonstrate continued resilience in a dynamic environment, with organic sales growth of 6%. Our healthy gross margins and strong cash flow reflect the progress we have made in recent years, reducing reliance on geographic mix and strengthening our foundations globally. Expects a flattish RAN market." (Ericsson)

Kone (KNEBV FH) - Co. is said to be in advanced talks to acquire TK Elevator, with TK Elevator seeking a valuation as much as EUR 25bln, Bloomberg reports citing sources. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

Bakkafrost (BAKKA NO) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Danske Bank

Norsk Hydro (NHY NO) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Danske Bank

Orsted (ORSTED DC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SEB

Skanska (SKAB SS) initiated with Buy at Deutsche Bank

Yara (YARA NO) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Danske Bank

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.26% at 7,041, NDX +0.49% at 26,333, DJI +0.24% at 48,579, RUT +0.22% at 2,720

SECTORS: Health -0.77%, Industrials -0.49%, Consumer Discretionary -0.24%, Financials -0.21%, Consumer Staples +0.34%, Communication Services +0.36%, Materials +0.54%, Utilities +0.67%, Technology +0.78%, Real Estate +1.01%, Energy +1.55%.

Alcoa (AA) - Q1 adj. EPS 1.40 (exp. 1.53), Q1 revenue USD 3.19bln (exp. 3.28bln). Alumina production -5% sequentially to 2.4mln metric tons, aluminium production was flat sequentially at 607,000 metric tons. Third-party alumina shipments -31% sequentially due to lower externally sourced alumina sales, seasonally lower Q1 shipments, delays in Australia linked to the Middle East conflict and Cyclone Narelle; while aluminium shipments -8% sequentially on proactive inventory repositioning in North America and lower trading activity, partly offset by higher shipments from the San Ciprian smelter restart. Said Section 232 tariff costs on US aluminium imports from Canada are expected to increase by about USD 35mln sequentially in Q2. Sees Q2 alumina segment adj. EBITDA facing an unfavourable sequential impact of about USD 15mln, sees Q2 aluminium segment adj. EBITDA benefiting from a favourable sequential impact of about USD 55mln, and said aluminium segment alumina costs should be favourable by about USD 20mln sequentially. Backs FY26 alumina production view between 9.7-9.9mln metric tons and alumina shipments between 11.8-12.0mln metric tons, and reiterated FY26 aluminium production between 2.4-2.6mln metric tons and aluminium shipments between 2.6-2.8mln metric tons. Is in advanced talks to sell the defunct Messina East smelter site for a potential data centre project.

Disney (DIS) - Disney is seeking USD 10mln for a 30-second ad during the 2027 Super Bowl broadcast, Variety reports. The price has made some marketers hesitant, and Disney’s sales effort has not matched the early progress typically seen when other networks sell 40-60% of Super Bowl ad inventory before the upfront season.

Netflix (NFLX) - Netflix shares fell 9.3% in extended trading after the company reiterated FY guidance, with investors said to be disappointed with no upgraded view, and announced that co-founder Reed Hastings said he will not stand for re-election to the board at the June annual meeting. It reported Q1 EPS of 1.23 (exp. 0.77), Q1 revenue USD 12.25bln (exp. 12.17bln). Operating income +18% Y/Y to USD 4.0bln, operating margin 32.3% (prev. 31.7%). Management said the EPS beat was driven by higher-than-forecast operating income and a USD 2.8bln termination fee related to the Warner Bros. (WBD) transaction; some analysts suggested that EPS is therefore not comparable with analyst estimates because of that fee. It ended 2025 with more than 325mln paid members, is still under 45% penetrated on an addressable household basis, and continues to see significant room to grow. It said that recent price increases were supported by improvements in value, and that its ad-supported plan remains a strong entry point. Execs added that the Warner Bros. deal was not a need-to-have, and said it remains confident in the core business. Sees Q2 EPS at 0.78 (exp. 0.84), Q2 revenue at USD 12.57bln (exp. 12.64bln); backed its FY26 revenue outlook between USD 50.7-51.7bln (exp. 51.38bln), and maintained its FY26 operating margin view at 31.5%. Netflix also reiterated that it is on track to reach USD 3bln in advertising revenue in 2026 and said slightly better-than-planned subscription revenue helped drive an 18% increase in operating income in Q1. Content spending remains weighted to H1 and Q2, is expected to have the highest Y/Y content amortisation growth rate of 2026 before easing in H2.

Private Credit, Barclays, (BARC LN), Blackstone (BX), Apollo Global (APO), Ares Management (ARES) - Banks including JPMorgan, Barclays, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have begun trading credit default swaps on flagship funds run by Blackstone, Apollo Global and Ares Management, according to sources cited by the FT. It follows S&P Global's (SPGI) launch of its CDX Financials index. The contracts, which pay out on default, allow traders to bet on or hedge against strains in the USD 2tln private credit industry, which faces rising redemption requests and tighter bank funding terms, the FT adds.

17 Apr 2026 - 06:58- MetalsRumour- Source: Newsquawk