Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 19th March 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks declined as the region took its cue from the losses stateside, where the major indices suffered amid higher oil prices and yields, following energy infrastructure attacks in the Middle East and hawkish Powell comments. ASX 200 was dragged lower by losses in miners, materials and real estate, with sentiment not helped by mixed jobs data. Nikkei 225 suffered from the higher oil prices and as markets awaited the BoJ policy decision, which provided no major surprises, while the attention now turns to more central bank announcements, as well as the Trump-Takaichi summit later. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the broad risk-off mood with tech hit by weakness in semiconductors and following Tencent's earnings, while miners and airlines were also pressured after a decline in metal prices and surge in oil.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.54% at 5,738, Dax 40 -0.88% at 23,513, FTSE 100 -0.98% at 10,301, CAC 40 -0.06% at 7,970, FTSE MIB -0.37% at 44,721, IBEX 35 +0.20% at 17,282, PSI -0.44% at 9,135, SMI -1.60% at 12,756, AEX -1.27% at 1,000

SECTORS: Energy 0.38%, Industrials 0.25%, Financials 0.09%, Materials -0.73%, IT -0.88%, Consumer Disc -1.24%, Telecoms -1.88%, Healthcare -1.91%, Utilities -2.04%, Consumer Stpl -2.66%

FTSE 100

AstraZeneca (AZN LN) - Co. is to build a cell therapy commercial manufacturing base and innovation centre in Shanghai, China. (AstraZeneca)

HSBC (HSBA LN) - Co. is weighing job cuts that could affect about 20k roles (around 10% of its workforce), over 3-5 years, Bloomberg reports. Non-client-facing roles in global service centres are expected to be most affected as the bank increases AI use, the report adds. (Bloomberg)

UK Defence - UK Chancellor Reeves said UK defense investment plan is being kept under review.

UK Tariffs - The UK will raise tariffs on steel imports and cut import quotas to support its domestic steel industry amid global competition, Bloomberg reports. From July, steel import quotas will be reduced by 60% from current arrangements, while tariffs on imports outside the quota will rise to 50% (from 25%). (Bloomberg)

Unilever (ULVR LN) - Co. reportedly held talks with Kraft Heinz (KHC) over food merger uniting ketchup and mayo, FT reports. Discussions in recent months have now ended and were over a merger of Unilever’s food business and Kraft Heinz’s condiments division. (FT)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Vonovia (VNA GY) - FY 2025 (EUR): Adj. Pretax Profit 1.9bln (prev. 1.82bln Y/Y), Adj. EBITDA 2.8bln (exp. 2.76bln), confirms 2026 guidance and 2028 objectives. CEO: "The underlying strengths of Vonovia remain fully intact, and so do our 2026 guidance and 2028 objectives. At the same time, I do see further opportunities that we are going to pursue. Our ambition is to accelerate growth to create additional value." (Vonovia)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Lanxess (LXS GY) - FY 2025 (EUR): Sales 5.67bln (prev. 6.37bln Y/Y), Net Income -577mln (prev. -177mln Y/Y), EBITDA pre-exceptionals 510mln (prev. 614mln Y/Y), guides 2026 EBITDA pre-exceptionals between 450-550mln. Plans to cut an additional 550 jobs to meet permanent annual savings of around EUR 100mln by the end of 2028. CEO: “2025 was an extremely tough year for the entire chemical industry and for Lanxess as well. For 2026, we expect to see positive momentum in the second half of the year at the earliest, for example through the German government’s infrastructure stimulus program.” In other news, the Co. raises prices for trimethylolpropane, effective immediately. (Lanxess)

Nemetschek (NEM GY) - Q4 2025 (EUR): EPS 0.56 (exp. 0.55), EBITDA 106.9mln (prev. 95.1mln Y/Y), guides 2026 EBITDA margin between 32-33% and adj. revenue growth between 14-15%. FY: EPS 1.88 (exp. 1.90), EBITDA 371.1mln (prev. 301mln Y/Y). (Nemetschek)

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Co. receives orders that total 54 MW from Prowind in Germany. (Nordex)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Vinci (DG FP) - Co. wins a EUR 68mln contract to construct two new lock gates to secure river traffic on the Rhone in France. (Vinci)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Alstom (ALO FP) - Co. secures long-term train services and refurbishment contracts for GBP 330mln with ScotRail and Beacon. (Alstom)

BROKER MOVES

Sanofi (SAN FP) initiated with Outperform at Bernstein

PAN EUROPE

Semiconductors - Micron delivered Q2 earnings that beat estimates but shares have fallen in extended trading as the Co. flagged higher capex plans. See more on Micron in the US section below. 

Weight Loss Drugs - Companies developing new weight-loss medicines are facing clinical trial disruption as patients assigned to placebo quit early, Bloomberg writes. The article says people who do not lose weight can quickly determine they received placebo rather than the active drug, despite blinding intended to avoid bias. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Logitech (LOGN SW) - Board approved a new three-year share buyback programme for up to USD 1.4bln; along with the USD 600mln programme approved in March 2025, the authorisation aligns with the company’s stated target of USD 2bln in buybacks over three years, outlined at its 2025 investor day.

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Swisscom (SCMN SW) - Co. announces that Fastweb + Vodafone and TIM have entered into a non-binding agreement aimed at developing and operating new mobile towers with up to 6,000 new sites in Italy. (Swisscom)

BROKER MOVES

Novartis (NOVN SW) initiated with Market Perform at Bernstein

SCANDINAVIA

Equinor (EQNR NO) - Co. is establishing two new business areas to position the company for safe, efficient operations and increased value creation. The two new business areas, which will replace the existing Marketing, Midstream and Processing (MMP) business area. The two business areas are: 1) for midstream, processing and infrastructure and 2) to drive and accelerate the Co.'s market orientation. (Equinor)

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - Swedish people with depression or anxiety who used Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy were less likely to experience worsening mental health, according to results published in The Lancet Psychiatry. Semaglutide was linked to a 44% lower risk of worsening depression, 38% lower risk of worsening anxiety and 47% lower risk of worsening addiction in almost 95,000 people. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.36% at 6,625, NDX -1.43% at 24,425, DJI -1.63% at 46,225, RUT -1.64% at 2,479

SECTORS: Consumer Staples -2.44%, Consumer Discretionary -2.32%, Materials -2.25%, Health -1.61%, Real Estate -1.61%, Technology -1.24%, Financials -1.18%, Communication Services -1.12%, Utilities -0.79%, Industrials -0.77%, Energy -0.16%.

General Dynamics (GD) - General Dynamics received a USD 15.4bln US Navy contract modification for additional Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine design, class lead yard support and sustainment, integrated enterprise plan initiatives, and supplier development to support Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine production.

Micron (MU) - Shares fell over 3% in extended US trading, despite beating in Q2, as it flagged higher capex plans. Q2 adj. EPS 12.20 (exp. 8.74), Q2 revenue USD 23.9bln (exp. 19.13bln). Q2 capex was USD 5.0bln, adj. free cash flow was USD 6.9bln, and Micron ended the quarter with cash, marketable investments and restricted cash of USD 16.7bln. Approved a 30% increase in the quarterly dividend to USD 0.15/shr. Management said results were driven by a strong demand environment, tight industry supply and strong execution, and said it expects significant records again in fiscal Q3. It added that in the AI era, memory has become a strategic asset for customers and that it is investing in its global manufacturing footprint to support growing demand. Micron also said it expects DRAM and NAND industry bit demand in 2026 to be constrained by supply, sees supply-demand conditions remaining tight beyond 2026. Sees Q3 adj. EPS between 18.75-19.55 (exp. 12.03), Q3 revenue between USD 32.75-34.25bln (exp. 24.3bln), and Q3 capex of about USD 7bln. FY capex is expected at above USD 25bln, and is expected to step up meaningfully, including construction-related capital expenditures increasing by more than USD 10bln Y/Y to support HBM- and DRAM-related investments.

Microsoft (MSFT) - The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency urged businesses to secure corporate accounts within Microsoft’s Intune management tool after last week’s cyberattack on Stryker Corp (SYK). The advisory told companies to follow Microsoft’s recommendations to strengthen Intune, which manages employee and administrative account access across organisations.

19 Mar 2026 - 06:53- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk