Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 26th March 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks traded cautiously as the geopolitical situation in the Middle East remained fluid, with mixed messages from the US and Iran about talks, while strikes persisted overnight against Iran and its regional neighbours. ASX 200 closed slightly lower with miners, tech and materials front-running declines, but with downside cushioned by gains in energy, defensives and financials, while price action was contained by a lack of data or fresh major catalysts. Nikkei 225 retreated as the rebound in oil stoked inflationary and growth concerns, given Japan's large dependency on Middle East oil, despite the government releasing emergency oil reserves, as planned. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were pressured amid a deluge of earnings releases and with developer debt concerns stoked as China Vanke seeks another bond repayment delay, whilst it works on a restructuring plan.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +1.29% at 5,654, Dax 40 +1.34% at 22,940, FTSE 100 +1.42% at 10,107, CAC 40 +1.33% at 7,847, FTSE MIB +1.48% at 44,013, IBEX 35 +1.54% at 17,170, PSI +1.49% at 9,014, SMI +1.33% at 12,682, AEX +0.91% at 983

SECTORS: Materials 2.12%, Healthcare 1.86%, Industrials 1.80%, Financials 1.67%, Utilities 1.56%, Consumer Disc 1.19%, IT 1.12%, Consumer Stpl 0.59%, Energy 0.14%, Telecoms 0.02% 

FTSE 100

Ex-dividends - British American Tobacco (BATS LN), Mondi (MNDI LN), Segro (SGRO LN), Lion Finance (BGEO LN), St James's Place (STJ LN), Smith & Nephew (SN/ LN), Aviva (AV/ LN), and Prudential (PRU LN) will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts. (dividenddata)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - Rio Tinto said its Diavik mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories reached final production, ending its decades-old diamonds business, WSJ reports. The mine produced more than 150mln carats of rough diamonds over 23 years, and the company said all diamonds that could be profitably mined there have now been extracted. Separately, Rio published its 2025 Taxes and Royalties Paid Report, where it paid USD 9.9bln globally in 2025 (vs 8.4bln in 2024); payments included USD 6.1bln in Australia, USD 1.1bln in Chile, USD 1.0bln in the US, USD 628mln in Mongolia, USD 399mln in Canada. Over 10 years, it has paid USD 82.7bln globally. (WSJ)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

HSBC (HSBA LN) reinstated with a Buy at Goldman Sachs; analysts model 4%-6% revenue growth per year in 2026-27.

DAX

BASF (BAS GY) - BASF is opening its EUR 10bln Chinese petrochemicals site in Guangdong, its biggest investment to date, as the Middle East conflict disrupts crude and naphtha flows and adds to pressure on a petrochemicals market already hit by excess supply. The company is ramping up production at the facility amid a worsening sector outlook, Bloomberg said. (Bloomberg)

Henkel (HEN3 GY), Olaplex (OLPX) - Henkel is in advanced talks to buy Olaplex, according to Bloomberg; sides are discussing a price of about USD 2/shr. A deal could be announced in coming days, BBG added. (Bloomberg)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Hapag Lloyd (HLAG GY) - FY 2025 (USD): Revenue 21.1bln (prev. 20.7bln Y/Y), EBITDA 3.18bln (prev. 4.64bln Y/Y); co. notes that the conflict in the Middle East is now causing considerable disruptions and sharply increasing operational costs. Proposed dividend of EUR 3.00/shr. Guides initial FY26 EBITDA 1.1bln to 3.1bln, EBIT -1.1bln to -0.5bln. This outlook remains subject to considerable uncertainty due to the highly volatile development of freight rates and the conflict in the Middle East. (Hapag Lloyd)

Kontron (KTN GY) – FY 2025 (EUR): Revenue 1.61bln (exp. 1.66bln). FY Outlook: Revenue 1.75bln (exp. 1.77bln). (Kontron)

Nordex (NDX1 GY) – Co. receives order for 28 MW in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. (Nordex)

ProSiebenSat.1 (PSM GY) – Final FY 2025 (EUR): Revenue 1.17bln (exp. 1.22bln), Adj. EBITDA 230mln (exp. 252mln). Outlook for 2026: After the decline in 2025, ProSiebenSat.1 expects slight organic revenue growth again in 2026. Revenues in the Entertainment segment are likely to stabilize over the full-year. (ProSiebenSat.1)

Thyssenkrupp (TKA GY) - Talks between Thyssenkrupp and Jindal Steel International could fall apart due to differences over pension liabilities and investments, according to Reuters citing sources. Talks continue, but chances of a deal have decreased. (Reuters)

Wacker Neuson (WAC GY) – FY 2025 (EUR): EBIT 132.4mln (exp. 137.1mln), Revenue 2.22bln (exp. 2.2bln). FY Outlook: Revenue 2.2bln (exp. 2.38bln). (Wacker Neuson)

BROKER MOVES

Commerzbank (CBK GY) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette

CAC

French stocks - French Central Bank expects 2026 growth 0.9% in baseline scenario (prev. 1.0%), 2027 growth 0.8% (prev. 1.0%), 2028 growth 1.2% (prev. 1.1%). (Newswires)

STMicroelectronics (STMPA FP) - STMicroelectronics registered up to 24,755,584 ordinary shares for offer and resale by a selling securityholder or permitted transferees. The shares may be acquired through warrant exercise. The company is not selling shares and will receive no proceeds. The ordinary shares trade on the NYSE under STM. The last reported sale price was USD 31.95 on 24th March 2026. (STMicroelectronics)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Spie (SPIE FP) – Co. announces the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of SGS Industrial Services Group. The transaction EBITA multiple is high single digit and the transaction should result in an adjusted 1 EPS accretion for the Group as soon as the first year of consolidation. (Spie)

BROKER MOVES

STMicroelectronics (STMPA FP) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

PAN EUROPE

Monte Paschi (BMPS IM) - BMPS removed Luigi Lovaglio as CEO after he challenged the bank’s plan to replace him when his term ends in April. After he joined a rival slate to remain in the role, the board revoked his CEO powers, assumed his responsibilities and agreed to suspend him as general manager. (Bloomberg)

Geopols - US President Trump told aides he wants a speedy end to the Iran war and wants to wrap up the conflict in the coming weeks, while he informed advisers that he thinks the conflict is in the final stages. Israeli media reported that US President Trump may announce a ceasefire with Iran by next Saturday, even without reaching a final agreement, while a separate report noted the working assumption in Israel is that Trump may announce a ceasefire by this coming Saturday, according to N12 News. (Newswires / N12 News)

Italian stocks - Italy said to plan cutting growth forecast to as low as 0.5%. (Newswires)

KGHM Polska Miedz (KGH PW) - Q4 (PLN): Net Profit 2.70bln (prev. 1.56bln Y/Y), Adj. EBITDA 3.10bln (prev. 2.30bln Y/Y), Revenue 10.50bln (prev. 9.20bln Y/Y). FY: Revenue 36.4bln (prev. 35.3bln Y/Y), Net Profit 3.69bln (prev. 2.87bln Y/Y). (KGHM)

Stellantis (STLAM IM/STLAP FP), General Motors (GM) - GM and Stellantis said they have seen no disruptions after a fire at the Fuyao Glass America plant in Ohio, which supplies components to several automakers, WSJ reports. Investigators are examining the cause of the blaze, which broke out on the roof of the Moraine plant on Sunday. (WSJ)

UCB (UCB BB) - UCB receives positive CHMP opinion for new ZILBRYSQ (zilucoplan) pre-filled pen in EU for adults living with generalized myasthenia gravis. (UCB)

BROKER MOVES

ING Group (INGA NA) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette

SMI

Sika (SIKA SW) - Co. is investing in Swiss tech firm MESH, an international pioneer of robot-supported manufacturing in reinforcement construction. The CHF 2.9mln fundraising round, completed together with partners including ABB Robotics and Shimizu Corporation, will enable MESH to scale its technologies globally. (Sika)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Mobino Holdings (MOBN SW) - Co.'s private development plan for Torfmatt has been approved by almost unanimous vote by the Wangen-Bruttisellen assembly. (Mobino Holdings)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Ericsson (ERICB SS) - Co. has signed a multi-year framework agreement with SoftBank (9984 JT) in Japan to deploy next-generation core network solutions to expand and modernize SoftBank’s core network infrastructure and accelerate 5G Standalone adoption. (Ericsson)

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - Novo Nordisk Chairman Sorensen is set to face investors at the company’s annual meeting for the first time since his boardroom coup. Investors have criticised limited progress so far, highlighting a failed attempt last fall to win an obesity startup from Pfizer (PFE) and a gloomy forecast this year that sent shares lower, Bloomberg said. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

Evolution (EVO SS) downgraded to Sell from Neutral by Goldman Sachs

Nokia (NOKIA FH) downgraded to Hold from Buy by SEB

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.54% at 6,592, NDX +0.67% at 24,163, DJI +0.66% at 46,428, RUT +1.23% at 2,536

SECTORS: Energy -0.53%, Real Estate -0.04%, Financials +0.10%, Communication Services +0.20%, Utilities +0.30%, Consumer Staples +0.52%, Technology +0.56%, Industrials +0.68%, Health +0.98%, Consumer Discretionary +1.18%, Materials +1.97%.

Jefferies (JEF) - Q1 adj. EPS 0.85 (exp. 0.96), Q1 revenue USD 2.02bln (exp. 1.98bln). Increased its share buyback authorisation to USD 250mln. Investment banking net revenues +45% Y/Y to USD 1.02bln, with record net revenues in Investment Banking Advisory, Equity and Debt Underwriting, and Equities; management said overall Investment Banking Advisory and Equity and Debt Underwriting revenues and Equities net revenues increased +40% Y/Y and +37% Y/Y, respectively. Results were affected by USD 17mln of losses related to Market Financial Solutions and First Brands after adjusting for compensation and taxes, as well as a USD 36mln non-cash after-tax goodwill write-down linked to the Tessellis stake sale. CEO said the quarter underscored the strength of the franchise, and durability of the strategy, while noting progress in winding down the legacy merchant banking portfolio through the announced sale of Tessellis, expected to close in Q1 2027. (Jefferies)

26 Mar 2026 - 07:00- EquitiesGeopolitical- Source: Newsquawk