Feb 09 ,2026
Synopsis:
European equity market closed mostly higher. Miners, logistics, pharma and banks the big outperformers; retail, property, food/beverage the main laggards. Follows last week's positive performance for Stoxx Europe 600, which saw another record close.
Sentiment in Europe positive. Early focus on Asian markets with Japan election reverberating and strength in tech sector. Nikkei surges to record high with 'Takaichi trade' sectors outperforming. Fiscal concerns back to the forefront with LDP's supermajority strengthening PM Takaichi's policy mandate. Said would accelerate talks on sales tax cut while maintaining fiscal sustainability. Some pressure on JGBs in 5-10Y zone though superlong sector steady. Spotlight also on yen, though currency strengthened after Finance Minister Katayama reiterated vow to act decisively against rapid movements.
Market stabilization has extended to metals and crypto space. Gold hovering around $5K following recent turbulence Treasury Secretary Bessent attributed to China speculators. PBOC data also showed 15th straight month of gold purchases. Silver back to $80 with support chalked up to dip buying by retail traders that saw SLV attract almost $500M of inflows in days leading up to Friday's rebound. Bitcoin reclaimed $70K following earlier plunge to $60 though market participants see risk of further swings amplified by thinner liquidity. China also tightened rules on issuance of cryptos in other countries.
Quiet macro calendar in Europe. Sentix investor sentiment sees big upturn in German economic outlook, supporting Eurozone indicator in February update. Survey from UK's REC showed UK labor market is starting to stabilize after long-running weakness. In other news, report that Chinese regulators have advised banks to curb exposure to US Treasuries amid concerns over concentration risks and market volatility. Elsewhere, UK PM Starmer sacrificed closest political ally in a bid to save premiership over Mandelson appointment as ambassador to the US. BoE Governor Bailey said AI training critical to future of UK job market. Bank of France Governor Villeroy announces resignation effective from 1-Jun. Brussels wants to revive campaign for common deposit insurance scheme as part of an effort to encourage cross-border mergers.
M&A deals dominate the headlines; Advent, FedEx (FDX), A&R and PPF announced a recommended all-cash €15.60/sh offer for all InPost (INPST.NA) shares in a deal worth ~€7.8B (EV basis) whilst - still in the Netherlands - DSM-Firmenich (DSFIR.NA) will divest its Animal Nutrition & Health business to CVC Capital Partners (CVC.NA) for an enterprise value of ~ €2.2B including an earnout of up to €0.5B; in the UK, confirming earlier speculation, NatWest Group (NWG.LN) acquired Evelyn Partners for £2.7B (EV basis) and also launched a new £750M buyback; also, Freya Investissement (Iliad) will align its economic ownership in Tele2 (TEL2.B.SS) up to its 27% share of votes
On the reporting front, UniCredit (UCG.IM), SoftwareONE Holding (SWON.SW), Plus500 (PLUS.LN) and Bakkafrost (BAKKA.NO) were among few other names from the region ot update investors. Of note, STMicroelectronics (STMPA.FP) secured a multi-billion-dollar strategic engagement with AWS across cloud and semiconductor technologies.
Looking ahead to tomorrow's calendar (see - Europe Week Ahead: 09-Feb to 13-Feb attached) AstraZeneca (AZN.LN), BP (BP.LN), Barclays (BARC.LN), Coca-Cola HBC (CCH.LN), Mediobanca (MB.IM), Kering (KER.FP), Nokian Renkaat (TYRES.FH), ams-OSRAM (AMS.SW), TUI Group (TUI1.GR), TeamViewer (TMV.GR), Koninklijke Philips (PHIA.NA), and Alfen (ALFEN.NA) will be amongst other names to update investors, whilst the macro-calendar releases will include France Q4 unemployment rate, UK Jan retail sales monitor - BRC, Norway Jan CPI, Sweden Dec industrial production, Denmark Jan CPI, Netherlands Dec manufacturing production, Finland Dec industrial production, Austria Dec industrial production, Greece Dec industrial production
Digest:
Sectors - STOXX Europe 600:
Outperformers:
Basic Resources +2.87%, Ind Goods & Svcs +1.64%, Banks +1.29%, Energy+1.02%, Construct & Mtls +0.97%, Financial Svcs +0.91%, Technology +0.86%,
Underperformers:
Personal Care Drug and Grocery Stores (1.16%), Food, Beverage and Tobacco (0.82%), Retail (0.40%), Real Estate (0.28%), Consumer Products and Services (0.25%), Insurance (0.09%), Media +0.02%, Autos & Parts (0.10%), Chemicals +0.09%, Health Care +0.06%, Utilities +0.40%, Travel & Leisure +0.51%,
Macro/Peripheral markets:
Geopolitics
Central Banks
EU
UK
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar calls for Starmer to resign: 'There have been too many mistakes' - The Guardian, The Times
Starmer's communications chief quits as pressure grows on PM - FT
UK risks 'Truss-style' bond market crisis if Starmer ousted - The Telegraph
France
Jean-Luc Mélenchon fumes after party is labeled 'far-left' by government - Le Monde
Germany
CDU health politician calls SPD proposals "a fatal sign" - Handelsblatt
Greece
Low expectations ahead of Greece-Turkey meeting in Ankara - ekathimerini
Company news:
Trading Higher:
+9.7% STMPA.FP (STMicroelectronics €27.31, +2.42) -- strategic agreement with AWS
+9.4% STX.LN (Shield Therapeutics £0.11, +0.01) -- FDA data exclusivity extention for ACCRUFeR
+8.9% PLUS.LN (Plus500 £49.20, +4.04) -- final FY earnings
+8.9% ADJ.GR (ADLER Group €0.19, +0.02) -- strategic update
+7.4% FING.B.SS (Fingerprint Cards SEK18.90, +1.30)
+7.1% HOFI.SS (Hoist Finance SEK152.30, +10.10)
+6.5% UCG.IM (UniCredit €78.75, +4.81) -- Q4 earnings
+6.1% UBI.FP (Ubisoft Entertainment €4.28, +0.25)
+5.7% BIOA.B.SS (BioArctic SEK324.40, +17.60) -- BLA for subcutaneous formulation of Leqembi designated for Priority Review in China
+5.6% SAB.SM (Banco de Sabadell €3.28, +0.17) -- starts ~502M share-buyback programme
+5.2% NOVO.B.DC (Novo Nordisk DKK311.00, +15.50) -- Hims & Hers Health pulls its compounded semaglutide pill offering following FDA scrutiny and Novo lawsuit
+5.2% OTEC.NO (Otello Corp. NOK18.15, +0.90) -- starts up to 3.7M share-buyback program
+5.0% BWE.NO (BW Energy NOK46.35, +2.20) -- Arctic Securities upgrade
+4.5% TLGO.SM (Talgo €2.99, +0.13) -- contract
+4.1% TEL2.B.SS (Tele2 SEK182.25, +7.25) -- Freya Investissement (Iliad) ownerhsip update
+4.1% YOU.LN (YouGov £2.14, +0.09) -- CFO steps down
+3.4% AF.FP (Air France-KLM €12.46, +0.41) -- Q4 earnings
+3.2% GBLB.BB (Groupe Bruxelles Lambert €83.40, +2.60) -- acquires 45% stake in Rayner
+2.8% APAM.NA (Aperam €42.68, +1.18)
+2.6% BSLN.SW (Basilea Pharmaceutica CHF58.00, +1.50) -- Cresemba milestone payment
+2.5% REG1V.FH (Revenio Group €19.76, +0.48) -- Inderes upgrade
+2.5% HLG.GR (Highlight Communications €1.25, +0.03) -- Estimated weekend box office revenues in US, Canada $60.8M, +12% y/y - Box Office Mojo
+2.2% KOG.NO (Kongsberg Gruppen NOK379.55, +8.05)
Trading Lower:
-6.1% MCAP.SS (MedCap SEK511.00, -33.00)
-6.0% NWG.LN (NatWest Group £6.20, -0.40) -- acquires Evelyn Partners for £2.7B; launches new £750M buyback
-5.2% ERA.FP (Eramet €64.50, -3.55)
-3.4% SKA.B.SS (Skanska SEK262.90, -9.30) -- Handelsbanken downgrade
-3.4% A1OS.GR (All for One Group €33.60, -1.20) -- acquires 25.1% stake in the Austrian company BrightFlare
-3.1% GRG.LN (Greggs £16.28, -0.52) -- Jefferies downgrade
-2.7% HM.B.SS (H&M Hennes & Mauritz SEK182.85, -5.00)
EU companies reporting tomorrow:
Earnings:
Benelux: Koninklijke Philips (PHIA.NA), Alfen (ALFEN.NA), Wereldhave (WHA.NA), Barco (BAR.BB), Econocom Group (ECONB.BB)
DACHs: ams-OSRAM (AMS.SW), TUI Group (TUI1.GR), TeamViewer (TMV.GR), EuroTeleSites (7YF.GR), Himalaya Shipping (J1X.GR)
Finland: Nokian Renkaat (TYRES.FH), Musti Group (MUSTI.FH), Remedy Entertainment (REMEDY.FH)
France: Kering (KER.FP), Gecina (GFC.FP)
Norway: Salmar (SALM.NO), Atea (ATEA.NO), Elopak (ELO.NO), SATS (SATS.NO), Multiconsult (MULTI.NO), Cloudberry Clean Energy (CLOUD.NO), Icelandic Salmon (ISLAX.NO), Hexagon Purus (HPUR.NO)
Southern Europe: Mediobanca (MB.IM)
Sweden: Wihlborgs Fastigheter (WIHL.SS), Asker Healthcare Group (ASKER.SS), Thule Group (THULE.SS), Medicover (MCOV.B.SS), Alimak Group (ALIG.SS), Intea Fastigheter (INTEA.B.SS), International Petroleum Corp (IPCO.SS), Storskogen Group (STOR.B.SS), Sdiptech (SDIP.B.SS), ITAB Shop Concept (ITAB.SS), Nelly Group (NELLY.SS), Proact IT Group (PACT.SS), Solid Försäkring (SFAB.SS), Prevas (PREV.B.SS), Catena Media (CTM.SS)
UK: AstraZeneca (AZN.LN), BP (BP.LN), Barclays (BARC.LN), Coca-Cola HBC (CCH.LN), Dunelm Group (DNLM.LN)
Trading Update:
France: Assystem (ASY.FP), Waga Energy (WAGA.FP), Hexaom (ALHEX.FP), Haulotte Group (PIG.FP)
CMD/Events: Koninklijke Philips (PHIA.NA), VAR.NO (Var Energi)
Data:
Economics:
Denmark Dec trade balance DKK35.3B vs consensus DKK24.3B, prior revised DKK31.9B from DKK28.8B
Norway
Q4 GDP (0.3%) q/q vs consensus +0.2%, prior revised +1.3% from +1.1%
Jan PPI (7.8%) y/y vs consensus (16.0%), prior (11.4%)
Switzerland Jan consumer sentiment (30.1) vs consensus (30.0), prior (30.7)
Eurozone Feb Sentix investor confidence 4.2 vs consensus (0.2), prior (1.8)
Markets:
WTI Crude (Mar 26): +$0.94 or +1.48% to $64.49
€-$ +0.0082 or +0.69% to 1.1897
£-$ +0.0065 or +0.48% to 1.3667
€-£ +0.0021 to 0.8707
S&P 500 +0.52%
Performance year-to-date
FTSE 100: +4.58%
DAX: +2.14%
CAC: +2.13%
MIB: +4.15%
Stoxx 600: +4.93%
This information and data is provided for general informational purposes only. The Bank of New York Mellon and our information suppliers do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of this information or data. We provide no advice nor recommendation or endorsement with respect to any company or securities. We do not undertake any obligation to update or amend this information or data. Nothing herein shall be deemed to constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities.
Please refer to "Terms Of Use".
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS:
NOT FDIC, STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY INSURED
MAY LOSE VALUE
NO BANK, STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY GUARANTEE