Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 27th March 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks were cautious but off worst levels with headwinds seen following the tech and comms-led selling stateside, and despite US President Trump's 10-day extension to the Strait of Hormuz deadline. The delay extends the pause on strikes against Iran's energy facilities through to April 6th, which Trump said was due to a request by Iran, which had wanted a 7-day extension, but he gave them 10 due to Iran's Hormuz 'gift'. Nonetheless, mixed signals persisted as mediators stated that Iran had not made a request for a 10-day extension, while it was also reported that the US is considering sending up to an additional 10k ground troops to the region and that Trump is weighing several options for dramatically escalating the war if his latest diplomacy efforts fail. ASX 200 marginally declined with underperformance seen in tech, real estate and gold miners, while a lack of fresh catalysts outside of geopolitics and the absence of data kept price action subdued. Nikkei 225 retreated at the open and briefly dipped below the 53,000 level following the recent upside in oil and yields, but has since clawed back nearly all of the losses. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp shrugged off the initial indecision as participants digested a slew of earnings releases, while it was also reported that China's Commerce Minister Wang met with USTR Greer and said that China is willing to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with the US.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -1.53% at 5,563, Dax 40 -1.64% at 22,581, FTSE 100 -1.33% at 9,972, CAC 40 -0.98% at 7,769, FTSE MIB -0.71% at 43,702, IBEX 35 -1.21% at 16,963, PSI -0.19% at 8,997, SMI -0.44% at 12,662, AEX -1.26% at 971

SECTORS: Energy 1.95%, Healthcare -0.07%, Telecoms -0.47%, Consumer Stpl -0.48%, Consumer Disc -1.01%, Utilities -1.12%, Materials -1.47%, Financials -1.93%, Industrials -2.07%, IT -2.63%

FTSE 100

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) – Co. spent AUD 19.7bln with more than 6k Australian suppliers in 2025. (Rio Tinto)

Rio Tinto (RIO LN), South32 (S32 LN), Japan Aluminium - Japanese aluminium buyers agreed to pay Q2 premiums of USD 350/ton to Rio Tinto and USD 353/ton to South32, according to Bloomberg; the report said these are the highest quarterly premiums since 2015, reflecting supply disruption from the Iran war, and likely adding inflation pressure for metal users. (Bloomberg)

UK GfK - UK GfK Consumer Confidence (Mar) -21 vs. Exp. -24 (Prev. -19); Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said, "unless there's a swift resolution to the conflict, or government schemes such as additional support with energy bills ... this ripple of fear we are seeing in the March data has the danger of turning into a flood". (GfK)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Bellway (BWY LN) upgraded to Buy from Add at Peel Hunt

Derwent London (DLN LN) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Pernod Ricard (RI FP) - Co. confirms that it is in discussions regarding a potential business combination with Brown-Forman. If agreed and subject to customary approvals, this partnership would be akin to a merger of equals. There can be no assurance that any agreement will be reached. Pernod Ricard does not intend to further communicate until an agreement is reached or discussions are terminated. (Pernod Ricard) Follows a Bloomberg report during market-hours on Thursday, 26th March.

Societe Generale (GLE FP) – The FT reports that the Co. has gotten rid of “shadow” trading floors, adding that investment bankers can work from home if its main sites cannot be used. (FT)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Air Liquide (AI FP) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley

SEB (SK FP) initiated with Buy at Goldman Sachs

PAN EUROPE

AB InBev (ABI BB) – Co. announces the retirement of chairman Martin J. Barrington (AB InBev)

Arcadis (ARCAD NA) – Co. nominates Carl Trowell to its supervisory board. (Arcadis)

Online Platforms - EU to impose fines on online platforms importing unsafe products, FT reports. (FT)

BROKER MOVES

Banco BPM (BAMI IM) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs; analysts believe the Co. is less attractive than several of its Italian peers on a number of metrics.

BPER Banca (BPE IM) initiated with Neutral at Goldman Sachs; analysts are positive on the bank's geographical exposure, and profitability.

Intesa (ISP IM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs

Monte dei Paschi (BMPS IM) initiated with Buy at Goldman Sachs; analysts see synergy benefits following its strategic acquisition of Mediobanca.

SMI

Novartis (NOVN SW) – Co. agrees to acquire Excellergy, Inc., building on allergy leadership with next-generation anti-IgE innovation. Novartis will pay up to USD 2 billion in upfront and milestone payments to acquire Excellergy. The transaction is expected to close in H2 2026, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. (Novartis)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

DKSH (DKSH SW) - DKSH Performance Materials acquires AIC Ingredients; no terms. The closing of the transaction is expected during the second quarter of 2026 and is subject to customary closing conditions. (DKSH)

BROKER MOVES

Barry Callebaut (BARN SW) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

Givaudan (GIVN SW) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

SCANDINAVIA

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) - FDA approved Awiqli 700 units/mL for adults with type 2 diabetes as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycaemic control. It is the first and only once-weekly long-acting basal insulin. The approval was based on the ONWARDS phase 3a programme in about 2,680 adults. (Novo Nordisk)

BROKER MOVES

Electrolux (ELUXB SS) initiated with Neutral at Goldman Sachs

Elisa (ELISA FH) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

Genmab (GMAB DC) initiated with an Outperform at Wolfe Research; analysts see recent stock weakness as a "buy the dip" opportunity.

US

CLOSES: SPX -1.74% at 6,477, NDX -2.38% at 23,589, DJI -1.01% at 45,960, RUT -1.70% at 2,493

SECTORS: Communication Services -3.46%, Technology -2.74%, Industrials -2.32%, Consumer Discretionary -1.87%, Materials -0.66%, Financials -0.57%, Consumer Staples -0.52%, Health -0.34%, Real Estate UNCH, Utilities +0.23%, Energy +1.56%.

Apple (AAPL) - Apple added Bosch, Cirrus Logic, TDK and Qnity Electronics to its American Manufacturing Programme, expanding US production of key materials and components for Apple products sold globally. The company plans to spend USD 400mln on these new programmes through 2030, aiming to create jobs and strengthen US manufacturing capabilities. Separately, Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro desktop, removing its USD 6,999 high-end computer for advanced users from its website, Bloomberg notes. The model had not been updated since 2023, when it received Apple’s M2 Ultra chip, while the smaller Mac Studio added the M3 Ultra last year. Elsewhere, Apple awarded rare out-of-cycle bonuses worth several hundred thousand dollars to many members of its iPhone Product Design team, sources said; the move is intended to help retain hardware designers amid departures to AI startups including OpenAI that are developing devices.

Prediction Markets - A bipartisan group of senators introduced the Public Integrity in Financial Markets Act of 2026, which would require members of Congress, executive-branch officials and staff to disclose bets placed on prediction market platforms and would establish penalties for misconduct. (Newswires)

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