Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 17th March 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks eventually traded mixed, with the region initially following suit to the gains on Wall Street, where sentiment was underpinned amid softer yields and oil price declines, although gains were capped overnight as oil prices partially rebounded and with participants bracing for this week's central bank bonanza, which was kicked off by the RBA, which delivered a widely expected back-to-back 25bps rate hike. ASX 200 was kept afloat as gains in miners, utilities, and financials offset the losses in tech and consumer discretionary, although the upside was limited amid the RBA rate decision, in which the central bank hiked rates for the second consecutive meeting in a 5-4 vote split. Nikkei 225 briefly reclaimed the 54,000 status but later fell into the red as oil partially rebounded from an early trough. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed with the Hong Kong benchmark outperforming in early trade amid strength in consumer stocks, while the mainland lagged after US President Trump revealed the US asked to delay the Trump-Xi summit by a month or so due to the Iran war.

SK Group, SK Hynix (000660 HK) - SK Group Chair said the global chip wafer shortage may last until 2030 as AI demand outpaces supply. He said SK Hynix is reviewing a US ADR listing, its CEO may announce a plan to stabilise DRAM prices, and the group is exploring alternative energy sources as higher Middle East energy prices create difficulties.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.44% at 5,742, Dax 40 +0.57% at 23,570, FTSE 100 +0.60% at 10,323, CAC 40 +0.31% at 7,936, FTSE MIB +0.05% at 44,338, IBEX 35 +0.19% at 17,093, PSI -0.15% at 9,130, SMI +0.49% at 12,882, AEX +0.61% at 1,008

SECTORS: Energy 1.06%, IT 0.83%, Financials 0.71%, Industrials 0.44%, Materials 0.32%, Healthcare 0.26%, Consumer Stpl 0.19%, Consumer Disc -0.05%, Telecoms -0.29%, Utilities -0.33%

FTSE 100

BP (BP/ LN) - Co. confirms production start up from a new gas consortium project in Angola. Initial production from Quiluma field expected to be 150mln standard cubic feet per day and rise to 330mmscf/day by year-end. (BP)

UK Tech - The UK will invest more than GBP 1bln in quantum computing research over the next four years, Bloomberg reports. The government wants quantum computing companies to build prototype machines for evaluation, aiming to develop larger-scale systems for public sector, academic and commercial use over the next decade. (Bloomberg)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Unite (UTG LN) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Delivery Hero (DHER GY) - Delivery Hero has reduced the size, and widened pricing of its USD 1.4bln loan offering amid market turmoil, according to Bloomberg citing sources. The loan is now offered at 5% over SOFR, and USD 0.965 on the dollar (vs an earlier indicated range of 4.5-4.75% range, USD 0.99 pricing, and a principal amount USD 100mln higher). (Bloomberg)

Fraport (FRA GY) - FY2025 (EUR): Net Income 468.1mln (prev. 501.9mln Y/Y), EBITDA 1.44bln (prev. 1.30bln Y/Y), sees 2026 EBITDA around EUR 1.5bln and net profit to decline. CEO: “Free cash flow is positive again, for the first time since 2018. The completion of major investment projects will significantly boost our free cash flow even further. This will provide us with more leeway in the future to reduce debt and facilitate dividend payments to our shareholders.” (Fraport)

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Co. has received two new orders for repowering projects on the island of Fehmarn, with a total capacity of 137 MW. Installation is planned for the summer of 2027 and to be completed by the fall of 2027. (Nordex)

Sartorius AG (SRT GY) - Co. introduces a new medium-term ambition from 2027. The Co. targets organic revenue growth between 8-11% and underlying EBITDA margin to grow by around 50-75bps per year. (Sartorius)

Thyssenkrupp (TKA GY) - The USTR announced the successful resolution of the USMCA RRM matter at the Co.'s Springs & Stabilisers facility in Mexico. (USTR)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

BNP Paribas (BNP FP) - BNP Paribas Cardif is in advanced talks to buy Warburg Pincus’ 26% stake in IndiaFirst Life Insurance, according to Bloomberg. The transaction could value IndiaFirst at about USD 350mln. A deal has not yet been finalised, the report adds. In other news, the Co. unveiled its 2030 Strategic Plan to position it towards it RoTE of 13% by 2028. The plan includes a target of around EUR 350bln of cumulative net inflows and revenue CAGR of around +4%. (Bloomberg/BNP Paribas)

Kering (KER FP) - Co. launches Kering Jewelry, and has named Jean Marc Duplaix as its CEO. (Kering)

STMicroelectronics (STMPA FP) - STMicroelectronics said it is integrating robotics components into the Nvidia (NVDA) Holoscan Sensor Bridge reference set and adding high-fidelity component models to Nvidia Isaac Sim. ST and Leopard Imaging also introduced a multimodal vision module combining ST sensors and Nvidia Holoscan Sensor Bridge technology, designed to work with Nvidia Jetson and Isaac for humanoid and other robotics systems.

Vinci (DG FP) - Co. has been awarded a contract worth GBP 200mln to design and build the infrastructure for the STEP Fusion programme in Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom. (Vinci)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Ubisoft (UBI FP) downgraded to Reduce from Add at AlphaValue

PAN EUROPE

Airlines - European airlines are reportedly planning to formally call for at least a delay in new EU rules set to come into force in 2030 that mandate airlines to use certain amount of synthetic green jet fuel, Reuters reports citing sources. (Reuters)

Global Internet - The US is pushing to make permanent the WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions ahead of the ministerial later this month, Bloomberg reports. The ban has been renewed every two years since 1998, and is understood to cover digital activity including online purchases, social media, data transfers and video calls. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Galderma (GALD SW) - Co. is to present its aesthetic strategies at its AMWC meeting in Monaco, showcasing innovative and robust scientific data across its aesthetics portfolio. (Galderma)

Tecan (TECN SW) - Co. announced a strategic collaboration with Nvidia (NVDA) focused on providing the AI-enabled platforms that Data-Driven Laboratories need to achieve faster discoveries and higher lab productivity. The Cos aim to ignite the next lab revolution, using AI and this yet unmapped data landscape to enable breakthrough discoveries and unprecedented productivity gains. (Tecan)

BROKER MOVES

Roche (ROG SW) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas

SCANDINAVIA

Kone (KNEBV FH) - Co. is in talks to buy TK Elevator, which is a private equity-owned elevator maker, Bloomberg reports citing sources. Kone is working with advisors on a potential cash and stock deal, with TK Elevator's owners seeking a valuation as much as EUR 25bln. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

Neste (NESTE FH) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

US

CLOSES: SPX +1.05% at 6,702, NDX +1.13% at 24,655, DJI +0.83% at 49,946, RUT +0.96% at 2,504.

SECTORS: Technology +1.39%, Consumer Discretionary +1.34%, Communication Services +1.02%, Financials +0.87%, Industrials +0.85%, Health +0.75%, Real Estate +0.72%, Utilities +0.57%, Materials +0.57%, Energy +0.38%, Consumer Staples +0.07%.

Private Credit - Morgan Stanley said default rates in private credit could rise to 8% as AI disruption continues to pressure the software sector. Its analysts said elevated leverage and upcoming maturity walls in software may drive defaults toward levels not seen since the pandemic, even though AI has not yet materially affected private credit fundamentals.

Nvidia (NVDA) - Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said at the company’s annual GTC event that its flagship AI processors for Blackwell and Vera Rubin systems would help generate USD 1tln in sales through 2027. Vera Rubin will ship later this year. He also unveiled new products, said Nvidia will expand further into CPUs, introduced semiconductors using technology acquired from Groq, and said the company is developing chips for data centres in outer space.

Nvidia (NVDA) Partnerships - Nvidia’s announced partnerships spanning AI infrastructure, enterprise software, design tools, storage, healthcare, transport and power systems, involving Cisco (CSCO), Synopsys (SNPS), NetApp (NTAP), HPE (HPE), IQVIA (IQV), Cadence (CDNS), Adobe (ADBE), Lyft (LYFT), Salesforce (CRM), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Eaton (ETN), IBM (IBM), CoreWeave (CRWV) and Texas Instruments (TXN). Some notable announcements include enterprise AI with IBM, AI deployment with Cisco, data centre power with Texas Instruments, and creative and marketing workflows with Adobe. Meanwhile, Uber (UBER) will deploy Nvidia Drive AV-powered fleets in 28 cities by 2028.

US AI Exports - The Commerce Department said the Trump administration’s AI exports programme will enter its next phase on 1st April, with industry-led groups given 90 days to submit proposals for full-stack AI export packages. Selected groups may receive faster export licence reviews, access to federal credit programmes, government advocacy abroad and interagency support, Axios reports. (Axios)

17 Mar 2026 - 06:55- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk