Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 8th January 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks eventually traded mostly negative following a similar handover from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and DJIA pulled back from record highs. ASX 200 traded marginally higher as strength in health care, tech, consumer stocks, energy and financials, offset the losses in mining and materials, with mild tailwinds seen amid a softer yield environment in Australia. Nikkei 225 extended its decline beneath the 52,000 level amid soft wages data from Japan and further frictions with China after MOFCOM yesterday announced an anti-dumping probe into Japan's dichlorosilane imports, which is a key chipmaking chemical, while Japan protested China's operation of mobile drilling rigs in waters on the Chinese side of the Japan-China median line in the East China Sea. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp eventually traded negative with the Hong Kong benchmark pressured amid tech-related weakness and with some early pressure seen in China’s OpenAI rival Knowledge Atlas Technology a.k.a. Zhipu, during its Hong Kong debut. The mainland eventually gave up the modest gains that were seen as the PBoC conducted a CNY 1.1tln outright reverse repo operation to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system.

Fast Retailing (9983 JT) - Q1 (JPY): Revenue 1.03tln (prev. 0.895tln Y/Y), PBT 226.7bln (prev. 196.6bln Y/Y), Net 147.5bln (prev. 131.9bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Prelim. Q4 (KRW) oper. profit 20.0tln (exp. 17.8tln), rev. 93.0tln (exp. 91.0tln). (Samsung Electronics)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.12% at 5,925, Dax 40 +0.83% at 25,099, FTSE 100 -0.74% at 10,048, CAC 40 -0.04% at 8,234, FTSE MIB -0.43% at 45,559, IBEX 35 -0.29% at 17,596, PSI -0.41% at 8,479, SMI -0.07% at 13,313, AEX -1.26% at 979

SECTORS: Industrials 2.11%, Utilities 1.13%, Healthcare 1.03%, IT 0.79%, Telecoms -0.13%, Materials -0.64%, Consumer Disc -1.06%, Financials -1.58%, Consumer Stpl -1.68%, Energy -3.26%

FTSE 100

Ex-dividends - Experian (EXPN LN), Sage (SGE LN), Ashtead (AHT LN) will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts. (dividenddata)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Hays (HAS LN) downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies

Shell (SHEL LN) reiterated with Buy at Jefferies; PT raised to 3,400p (prev. 3,200p). Analysts suggest that Shell's global LNG demand growth expectations have risen, a business viewed as a key differentiator.

DAX

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Nordex (NDX1 GY) - Co. received several new orders from leading independent power producers in Spain; new orders total 246MW. (Nordex)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Dassault Aviation (AM FP) - Reports 26 Rafale deliveries (prev. guided 25, prev. 24 Y/Y). Reports 37 Falcon were delivered (prev. guided 40, prev. 31 Y/Y). Raises its 2025 net sales guidance to over EUR 7bln (prev. reported EUR 6.2bln in 2024). (Dassault Aviation)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Sodexo (SW FP) - Q1 (EUR): Revenue 6.3bln (prev. 6.4bln Y/Y). FY26 guidance unchanged. Notes that underlying operating profit margin to be slightly lower than Fiscal 2025. (Sodexo)

Vallourec (VK FP) - Co. initiated a EUR 200mln share buyback and aims total shareholder return to be at least EUR 500mln by Aug 2025. (Vallourec)

BROKER MOVES

TotalEnergies (TTE FP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

PAN EUROPE

Alcohol Names / Diageo (DGE LN) / Heineken (HEI NA) - Constellation Brands (STZ) shares rose 2.5% afterhours after it reported quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations, signalling improving beer demand despite ongoing consumer headwinds. See US section below for details

EDPR (EDPR PL) - Co. has secured a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement with Consumers Energy Company for a 150 MWac solar project in the US. (EDPR)

EU Stocks - EU plans to pursue a special rulebook for corporates outside national law, which would create a voluntary ‘28th regime’ for companies to operate across EU, according to FT. (FT)

Luxury Watches - Secondary-market prices for luxury watches reached a more than two-year high, driven mainly by demand for dress watches popular with celebrities such as Taylor Swift, according to Bloomberg. Its Subdial Watch Index rose 8% in 2025 and rebounded in December after a November dip, reaching its highest level since October 2023. (Bloomberg)

TomTom (TOM2 NA) - TomTom enhances maps and navigation with Microsoft Azure integration. (TomTom)

Defence Stocks, RTX (RTX) - US President Trump said he will block defence contractors from paying dividends or buying back shares until production improves, criticising slow output and high costs. An executive order targets firms including RTX, caps executive pay at USD 5mln, and links incentives to delivery and performance. Trump said the Department of War told him RTX has been least responsive, slowest to increase output and has prioritised shareholders; he warned RTX must invest in plants and equipment or lose business. (Newswires)

US Defence Spending - President Trump said the US military budget for 2027 should be USD 1.5tln rather than USD 1.0tln, citing security needs and tariff revenues. He said higher spending would fund military expansion while reducing debt. (Newswires) A report which led to upside across US defence names in after-hours trade

BROKER MOVES

Repsol (REP SM) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Adecco (ADEN SW) downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies

SCANDINAVIA

Metso (METSO FH) - Co. announced plans to invest in a new rubber products plant in China. (Newswires)

Sobi (SOBI SS) - Sobi announced that topline results from the Phase 2a EMBRACE study evaluating Gamifant for interferon-gamma -driven sepsis, showed proof-of-concept with observed improvement in organ dysfunction and survival. (Sobi)

BROKER MOVES

Equinor (EQNR NO) resumed with Hold at Jefferies

Volvo (VOLVB SS) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.34% at 6,921, NDX +0.06% at 25,654, DJI -0.94% at 28,996, RUT -0.29% at 2,575

SECTORS: Utilities -2.46%, Industrials -1.90%, Materials -1.63%, Financials -1.44%, Real Estate -1.37%, Energy -1.19%, Consumer Staples -1.02%, Consumer Discretionary -0.08%, Technology +0.09%, Communication Services +0.79%, Health +1.01%.

Chevron (CVX) - Chevron is in talks with the US government to expand its Venezuela operating license to raise crude exports to its refineries and sell to other buyers, Reuters reports. The move is tied to negotiations to supply up to 50mln bbls of Venezuelan oil, with proceeds funding US goods purchases. (Reuters)

Constellation Brands (STZ) - Constellation Brands shares rose 2.5% afterhours after it reported quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations, signalling improving beer demand despite ongoing consumer headwinds. Q3 adj. EPS 3.06 (exp. 2.63), Q3 revenue USD 2.37bln (exp. 2.16bln). Beer delivered dollar and volume share gains, while Wine & Spirits outperformed the broader US wine industry, despite a challenged operating environment. Management said conditions were in line with expectations, and similar to the prior quarter, adding that focus on controllables is positioning the group for long-term success. The company backed FY26 comparable EPS guidance of 11.30–11.60 (exp. 11.50), reiterated FY26 organic net sales guidance of −4% to −6%, sees FY26 free cash flow USD 1.3–1.4bln. Guidance assumptions exclude divested operations, including SVEDKA and 2025 wine divestitures, removing USD 711mln of net sales and USD 245mln of gross profit less marketing from Y/Y comparisons.

Jefferies (JEF) - Jefferies shares fell after hours despite higher adjusted earnings and revenue, as investors focused on a loss linked to its exposure to First Brands. Q4 adj. EPS 0.96 (exp. 0.94), Q4 revenue USD 2.07bln (exp. 2.0bln); net earnings attributable to common shareholders USD 191mln on a reported basis, rising to USD 213mln on an adj. basis after excluding a USD 30mln pre-tax markdown related to the Point Bonita investment; Investment Banking net revenues +20% Y/Y, and Equities +18% Y/Y, partly offset by lower net revenues in Fixed Income and Asset Management. Execs said results reflected “strong performance and sustained momentum in both Investment Banking and Equities”, with overall results demonstrating continued business momentum despite weaker conditions in some areas.

NVIDIA (NVDA) - Co. is said to be requiring full upfront payment from Chinese customers seeking H200 chips, hedging it against ongoing uncertainty over China's approval of the shipments. (Newswires)

Weight-Loss Drugs - Patients who stop taking obesity drugs regain weight almost four times faster than those ending a diet, according to research published in the BMJ cited by Bloomberg. The study found patients return to original weight in under two years, regaining about 0.4 kg/month on average. (Bloomberg)

US Housing - US President Trump said he is immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and will be calling on Congress to codify it. (Newswires)

08 Jan 2026 - 06:56- EquitiesResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk