Daily European Equity Opening News - 29th July 2026

ASIA

APAC stocks were choppy with mixed, two-way trade seen as bourses initially began on the front foot as an initial tech rebound helped the region shrug off the geopolitical risks following the Iran attack on a US base in Jordan, although the tech-related gains were eventually wiped out. ASX 200 bucked the trend amid outperformance in defensives and as participants reflected on Rio Tinto's earnings and softer-than-expected inflation data, which saw an unwinding of RBA rate hike bets.Nikkei 225 initially rallied amid early tech momentum and reports the government will finalise a food sales tax cut next month, but then slipped into the red as tech stocks reversed course. KOSPI suffered at the whim of tech fluctuations, with stocks initially buoyed following mixed results from SK Hynix, which beat on Q2 net, but missed on oper. profit and revenue, stoking concerns of lofty expectations, despite oper. profit jumping 557%. However, the index then slumped and eventually triggered circuit breakers. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed, with the Hang Seng driven by Chinese automakers/EV names, while the mainland is subdued amid ongoing trade-related frictions.

SK Hynix (000660 KS) - Shares fell over 13% in APAC trading after record profits missed lofty forecasts, with shipment delays, concerns over AI spending sustainability, and uncertainty around shareholder returns outweighing robust memory chip demand. Q2 net income KRW 93.8tln (exp. 54.5tln), Q2 revenue KRW 79.0tln (exp. 84.0tln); operating profit +557% Y/Y to KRW 60.5tln (exp. 64.2tln), while net income increased 1,242% Y/Y, supported by one-off investment gains. Q2 DRAM average selling prices increased about 30% Q/Q, NAND ASP rose by the mid-50% range. Operating margin exceeded 80%, although operating profit and revenue missed elevated expectations due partly to a weaker product mix. Expects FY26 DRAM market demand to rise by the mid-20% range Y/Y, and NAND demand to increase by the high-teens. Sees FY26 capex rising about 50% to at least KRW 45tln, supported by long-term customer contracts and expectations that memory demand will continue to outpace supply. Bit growth should accelerate in H2, and preparations are under way for volume deliveries of next-generation HBM4E products in 2027.

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.24% at 6,297, Dax 40 +0.27% at 25,494, FTSE 100 +0.88% at 10,877, CAC 40 +0.63% at 8,459, FTSE MIB -0.66% at 51,710, IBEX 35 +0.01% at 19,743, PSI +0.14% at 9,135, SMI +1.07% at 14,576, AEX +1.05% at 1,093

FTSE 100

Rio Tinto (RIO LN) - H1 2026 (USD): Sales revenue 31.028bln (prev. 26.873bln Y/Y), Underlying EBITDA 14.826bln (prev. 11.547bln Y/Y), Underlying earnings 6.851bln (prev. 4.807bln Y/Y), Profit after tax 6.664bln (prev. 4.528bln Y/Y), Operating cash flow 9.173bln (prev. 6.924bln Y/Y), Free cash flow 3.834bln (prev. 2.185bln Y/Y), Underlying EPS 421.4c (prev. 296.0c Y/Y), Net debt 14.061bln (prev. 14.362bln Y/Y). Underlying ROCE 17% (prev. 14% Y/Y), interim dividend 211.0c/share (prev. 148.0c Y/Y, +43%), CuEq production +3% Y/Y. (Rio Tinto)

Standard Chartered (STAN LN) - Q2 (USD) pre-tax profit 2.33bln (exp. 2.08bln), announces USD 1bln share buyback. H1 2026 Operating income 11.6bln (prev. 10.9bln Y/Y), NII 5.7bln (prev. 5.5bln Y/Y), Non-interest income 5.9bln (prev. 5.5bln Y/Y), Operating expenses 6.3bln (prev. 6.2bln Y/Y), Credit impairment 446mln (prev. n/a Y/Y), PBT 4.8bln (prev. 4.4bln Y/Y), EPS 151.6c (prev. 129.6c Y/Y). RoTE 17.6% (prev. 16.4% Y/Y, +120bps). FY Guidance: NII growth of "low-single digit pct" (prev. guided "broadly flat"), operating income growth around the middle of the 5-7% range, expenses ex-notables around 13.3bln, RoTE >12%. (Standard Chartered)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

BASF (BAS GY) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 17.2bln (exp. 17.4bln), adj. EBIT 1.5bln (exp. 1.14bln), adj. EBITDA 2.4bln (exp. 2.12bln). FY Guidance upgraded: adj. EBITDA 6.9-7.7bln (exp. 7.42bln, prev. guided 6.2-7.0bln). Making progress on the "winning ways" strategy and Ludwigshafen restructuring. (EQS)

Deutsche Bank (DBK GY) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 8.5bln (exp. 8.14bln), PBT 2.7bln (exp. 2.33bln), CET1 13.9% (prev. 14.2%). FIC revenue 2.6bln, +16% Y/Y, at a record level; FIC market +27% Y/Y, driven by rates & credit. Credit loss provision 174mln (prev. 259mln), significantly lowered as overlay release and non-recurrence of prior year model updates more than offset impact of planned exits of non-performing exposures. New EUR 500mln buyback. Record Q2 and H1. FY Guidance: "firmly" on track to attain the revenue guide of 33bln; CEO says H1 is traditionally stronger, thinks they will comfortably get to that figure, and potentially exceed it. (Deutsche Bank/BBG TV)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

CAC

EssilorLuxottica (EL FP) - H1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 14.8bln (exp. 14.9bln), adj. EBIT 2.75bln (exp. 2.49bln). (Essilor)

Kering (KER FP) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Group revenue 3.65bln (exp. 3.63bln), Gucci revenue 1.41bln (exp. 1.37bln). Ongoing crisis in the Middle east had a negative impact of 1% on group revenue growth in Q2. H1: Revenue 7.22bln (exp. 7.18bln), EBITDA 1,94bln (prev. 1.96bln), Operating Income 921mln (prev. 920mln). H1 Breakdown: Fashion & Leather -1% Y/Y, of which Gucci -4% Y/Y, Jewelry +106% Y/Y, Eyewear +19% Y/Y. Call: Q3 results may be "flattish". (GlobeNewswire/Kering)

Saint Gobain (SGO FP) - Signed a framework agreement with Microsoft (MSFT), and enhanced leadership in AI for construction. (Saint Gobain)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Lagardere (MMB FP) - H1 2026 (EUR): Revenue EBIT 233mln (prev. 225mln), Net 31mln (prev. 24mln), EBIT 233mln (prev. 225mln). Call: Publishing continues to outperform soft end markets. (Lagardere)

Nexans (NEX FP) - H1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 3.25bln (exp. 3.17bln), adj. EBITDA 387mln (exp. 371mln). FY Guidance upgraded: adj. EBITDA 770-840mln (prev. guided 730-810mln), FCF 235-325mln (prev. guided 210-310mln). (GlobeNewswire)

Sopra Steria (SOP FP) - H1 2026 (EUR): Revenue 2.96bln (prev. 2.84bln), Operating Profit 223mln (prev. 215mln), EPS 7.62 (prev. 7.29). FY Guidance: Revenue raised to 2.0-2.5% (prev. guided 1.0-2.0%). (Sopra Steria)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

ASM International (ASM NA) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 1bln (exp. 998.1mln), EBIT 322.8mln, Gross margin 51.9% (prev. 53.3% Q/Q), Operating Margin 32.2% (prev. 32.2%), Net income 285.4mln (exp. 266mln). Commentary: Sales were driven by strong demand and increasing market share in leading-edge logic/foundry, robust growth in HBM DRAM, and continued solid mature logic/foundry sales in China; Momentum in AI-related applications continued to build during the quarter; The demand environment remained highly favorable in the second quarter, driven by sustained investment in AI infrastructure to support rapidly expanding compute workloads; saw accelerating demand in leading-edge, particularly in the 2nm node, while 3nm to 7nm also saw an uptick in sales supported by investments related to CPU and agentic AI applications. The 1.4nm node remains on track for its first meaningful contribution in H2. Guidance: 2027 revenue to exceed the 3.7-4.6bln range, driven by strong H1 orders, H2 expectations and customer visibility. (GlobeNewswire/ASM)

Solvay (SOLB BB) - Q2 2026 (EUR): Revenue 1.03bln (exp. 1.02bln), adj. EBITDA 187mln (exp. 183mln). FY Guidance: adj. EBITDA 770-850mln (exp. 778mln). (GlobeNewswire)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

UBS (UBSG SW) - Q2 2026 (USD): Revenue 13.7bln (exp. 13.4bln), Net 2.8bln (exp. 2.39bln), PBT 3.9bln (exp. 3.5bln), Investment Banking Revenue +26%, Wealth Management revenue +13%. Into Q3 "market conditions remain broadly constructive". Q3 Guidance: Global Wealth Management NII to increase "modestly", broadly in-line with Q2. Intends to buyback USD 3bln worth of shares by mid-2027, expects USD 1bln of that to take place in the next three months. (UBS)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Sika (SIKA SW) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

SCANDINAVIA

Electrolux (ELUXB SS) - Q2 2026 (SEK): Sales 31.6bln (exp. 31.1bln), adj. EBIT 1.2bln (exp. 0.61bln). FY Outlook: revised CapEX to 3.0-3.5bln (prev. guided 4bln). (Electrolux)

EQT AB (EQT SS) - Perpetual (PPT AT) rejects latest EQT bid and is to seek an improved offer. (Bloomberg)

BROKER MOVES

US

Ford (F) - Shares rose 3.5% afterhours following an earnings beat and raised guidance, driven by operational improvements, resilient pricing, profitable product mix and confidence in its F-Series production recovery. Q2 adj. EPS 0.42 (exp. 0.36), Q2 revenue USD 48.30bln (exp. 47.35bln). Adj. EBIT increased USD 0.4bln Y/Y to USD 2.5bln, as strong US demand, pricing and lower warranty and material costs helped offset tariffs and broader economic uncertainty. CEO said trucks, off-road vehicles and hybrids are delivering strong pricing power, while improving quality and new businesses such as Ford Energy are supporting profitability. Raised FY26 adj. EBIT outlook to between USD 10-11bln (prev. saw 8.5-10.5bln), raised FY26 adj. FCF view to between USD 6-7bln (prev. saw 5-6bln); backed its FY26 capex view at between USD 9.5-10.5bln; sees FY26 Ford Blue EBIT between USD 5.0-5.5bln, Ford Pro EBIT between USD 7.0-7.5bln, Ford Model e loss of approximately USD 4.0bln, and Ford Credit pretax earnings above USD 2.5bln.

NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) - Shares fell around 3% in afterhours trading, as its beat-and-raise failed to impress investors amid a broader semiconductor sell-off, and a recent pullback from record highs. Q2 adj. EPS 3.61 (exp. 3.52), Q2 revenue +19% Y/Y at USD 3.50bln (exp. 3.47bln). It saw growth across all end-markets and regions, supported by software-defined vehicles, physical AI and data centres. CEO said AI is moving from the cloud into vehicles, factories and robots, aligning with its strengths. Expects FY26 data centre revenue to exceed USD 500mln (vs approximately USD 200mln in 2025), driven by hyperscaler deployments. Sees Q3 adj. EPS between 3.89-4.32 (exp. 4.03), sees Q3 revenue between USD 3.65-3.85bln (exp. 3.71bln).

Seagate Technology (STX) - Shares rose 1.7% in afterhours trading following a top- and bottom-line beat, as well as constructive guidance. Q4 adj. EPS 5.71 (exp. 5.09), Q4 revenue USD 3.63bln (exp. 3.49bln). Gross margin expanded for a thirteenth consecutive quarter. Cloud remained the primary nearline demand driver, with three years of sequential quarterly exabyte growth; Enterprise/OEM data centre revenue and exabytes increased at strong double-digits rates Y/Y. CEO said robust cloud demand, AI-driven data growth and disciplined execution are supporting durable demand for mass-capacity storage. Sees Q1 adj. EPS between 7.10-7.50 (exp. 5.86), Q1 revenue between USD 4.0-4.2bln (exp. 3.75bln), Q1 adj. operating margin of approximately 50%; also expects to reduce debt in Q1. Expects FY27 revenue growth to outpace FY26, with further margin expansion and cash generation; sees FY27 capex between 4-6% of revenue.

Visa (V) - Visa shares edged lower in extended trading despite stronger revenue and earnings, as job cuts tied to changes in payments technology and AI overshadowed resilient spending and improved FY guidance; shares had been higher earlier in the day on reports of the job cuts. Q3 adj. EPS 3.32 (exp. 3.23), Q3 revenue USD 11.6bln (exp. 11.40bln). Payments volume +10% Y/Y, cross-border volume +13% Y/Y, processed transactions +10% Y/Y to 71.7bln. Sees Q4 adj. EPS growth at the low end of the mid-teens, revenue growth at the high end of the low-double-digits and operating expense growth in the low-double-digits. Sees FY26 adj. EPS growth at the low end of the mid-teens, net revenue growth at the low end of the low-teens and operating expense growth at the low end of the low-teens.

CLOSES: SPX +0.2% at 7,429, NDX -0.98% at 27,763, DJI +1.03% at 52,752, RUT +0.2% at 2,954

SECTORS: Health +2.33%, Consumer Staples +1.96%, Materials +1.66%, Communication Services +1.64%, Financials +1.18%, Consumer Discretionary +0.95%, Real Estate +0.36%, Utilities -0.36%, Industrials -0.41%, Technology -1.17%, Energy -1.40%

29 Jul 2026 - 06:55- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk