Feb 25 ,2026
Synopsis:
European equity markets closed higher, near best levels. Fresh record highs for Stoxx 600, FTSE 100 and French CAC. Cyclicals outperform with resource stocks, financials, and tech outperforming; defensives the main laggards. Follows mixed performance on Tuesday.
More scrutiny over impact of AI. Focus on software bounce in US and tech-heavy benchmarks in Asia after pushback on Citrini report that outlined dire scenarios and triggered Monday's selloff. Some semblance of reprieve surrounding Anthropic enterprise agent event. Big takeaway has seemingly revolved around partnerships and collaboration over replacement. META-AMD chip deal also provided support. Meanwhile, some cautious commentary on European equity market outlook after recent run higher. While valuations seen as attractive, bears cited sluggish earnings growth. Positive sentiment also surrounding upcoming NVDA results.
Trump's State of the Union address talked up economic accomplishments, though second-year agenda light on details. Outlined retirement-saving proposal, promoted healthcare plan released in January and tempered criticism of SCOTUS decision to strike down IEEPA tariffs. On Iran, said preference was to settle nuclear issues diplomatically. Overseas, Japan PM Takaichi nominated two reflationists to BOJ board. Follows report she voiced apprehension about further rate hikes during her meeting with BOJ Governor Ueda on 16-Feb.
On macro calendar, Eurozone final CPI unchanged from flash at 1.7% y/y. German GfK consumer confidence weaker-than-forecast and final GDP unchanged versus preliminary reading at 0.3% q/q. French consumer confidence data firmer than expected. Update from UK property portal Zoopla said strong rebound in housing market at start of the year. Elsewhere, comments from BoE Governor Bailey on Tuesday supported March rate-cut expectations. Australia January CPI supported RBA's hawkish policy outlook after headline unchanged versus forecast for a drop while trimmed mean inflation unexpectedly firmed.
A busy day for earnings, with initial focus on banks and financial services with HSBC Holdings (HSBA.LN) and St. James's Place (STJ.LN) both reporting FY earnings this morning, coming in ahead of consensus, whilst Banco Santander (SAN.SM) issued a presentation ahead of its investors day today. In HealthCare, several companies released lateste numbers with Fresenius (FRE.GR), Haleon (HLN.LN), Novonesis (NSIS.B.DC) trading lower as a result, while Sandoz Group (SDZ.SW) bucking the lower trend. Energy and Utilities are also in the spotlight with Royal Vopak (VPK.NA), Nordex (NDX1.GR), E.ON SE (EOAN.GR), Iberdrola (IBE.SM), EDP Renovaveis (EDPR.PL) and Saipem (SPM.IM) reporting end of year results.
Elsewhere, food and beverages companies includes Diageo (DGE.LN) reporting H1 earnings while in Construction & Materials and Industrial, Heidelberg Materials (HEI.GR), NKT A/S (NKT.DC), Leonardo (LDO.IM), Bureau Veritas (BVI.FP), Wolters Kluwer (WKL.NA) are amongst latest to report results. In Telecom groups, Telecom Italia (TIT.IM) reported FY earnings yesterday after the market closed and announced a €400M share buyback plan alongside a 1-for-10 reverse stock split. Other notable companies updating investors today include Adecco (ADEN.SW), OPmobility (OPM.FP), Interparfums (ITP.FP), Ageas (AGS.BB), Aena S.M.E. (AENA.SM), Auto1 Group (AG1.GR), SEB (SK.FP), Jet2 (JET2.LN), and Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML.LN).
Looking ahead to tomorrow's calendar (see - Europe Week Ahead: 16-Feb to 20-Feb attached) UCB (UCB.BB), Syensqo (SYENS.BB), DEME Group (DEME.BB),Royal Unibrew (RBREW.DC), Schneider Electric (SU.FP), AXA (CS.FP), ENGIE (ENGI.FP), Compagnie de Saint-Gobain (SGO.FP), Bouygues (EN.FP), Getlink (GET.FP), Technip Energies (TE.FP), Deutsche Telekom (DTE.GR), Allianz (ALV.GR), Munich Re (MUV2.GR), Covestro (1COV.GR), Puma (PUM.GR), Eni (ENI.IM), Subsea 7 (SUBC.NO), Hafnia (HAFNI.NO), Acciona (ANA.SM), Grifols (GRF.SM), Fluidra (FDR.SM), Sulzer (SUN.SW), Clariant (CLN.SW), Idorsia (IDIA.SW), Zehnder Group (ZEHN.SW), Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.LN), London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.LN), Howden Joinery Group (HWDN.LN), and Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK.LN) will be amongst other names to update investors, whilst the macro-calendar releases will include Italy Feb business/consumer confidence, Eurozone Feb industrial/service sentiment, Jan M3 money supply, Belgium Feb CPI, Jan PPI, Finland Jan PPI.
Digest:
Sectors - STOXX Europe 600:
Outperformers:
Banks +2.78%, Basic Resources +2.77%, Utilities +1.70%, Technology +1.65%, Energy+1.11%, Travel & Leisure +0.89%, Telecom +0.79%,
Underperformers:
Food, Beverage and Tobacco (1.37%), Personal Care Drug and Grocery Stores (1.13%), Consumer Products and Services (0.99%), Retail (0.86%), Chemicals (0.57%), Construct & Mtls (0.32%), Autos & Parts (0.26%), Health Care (0.23%), Media +0.04%, Real Estate +0.26%, Ind Goods & Svcs +0.41%, Financial Svcs +0.59%,
Macro/Peripheral markets:
Geopolitics
Central Banks
EU
UK
UK military spending set to account for smaller share of GDP in 2027-28 - FT
Chagos Islands confusion as Foreign Office denies minister's claim the deal has been paused - The Guardian
Starmer promises to look at making student loans 'fairer' - BBC
France
France warns against risk of nuclear proliferation - Politico
Germany
China's exports in focus - Merz fights for concessions - Handelsblatt
Economic barometer sees above-average growth - Handelsblatt
Netherlands
Finance minister going back to the drawing board over new asset tax proposals due to come into force in 2028 - DutchNews
Ireland
Neutral Ireland seeks closer ties with Nato over maritime security - FT
Hungary
Hungary's opposition Tisza party widens its lead ahead of Orban's Fidesz - Reuters
Company news:
Trading Higher:
+18.5% NDX1.GR (Nordex €42.06, +6.48) -- Q4 earnings
+15.4% CFEB.BB (Cie d'Entreprises CFE €11.60, +1.55) -- FY earnings; Degroof upgrade
+12.4% PEN.NO (Panoro Energy NOK26.25, +2.90) -- NOK467M private placement at NOK23.35/sh; acquires Equatorial Guinea production assets for up to $219.5M
+11.5% TEMN.SW (Temenos CHF70.95, +7.40) -- Q4 earnings
+10.9% TRCS.LN (Tracsis £3.55, +0.35) -- H1 trading update
+9.4% BGEO.LN (Lion Finance Group £112.30, +9.70) -- FY earnings
+9.1% FYB.GR (Formycon €23.00, +1.90) -- Dahlia PK study results
+8.3% ANA.SM (Acciona €218.00, +16.80)
+7.7% F3C.GR (SFC Energy €15.28, +1.08) -- Berenberg upgrade
+7.5% HSBA.LN (HSBC Holdings £13.81, +0.97) -- FY earnings
+7.4% NORBT.NO (Norbit NOK218.00, +15.00) -- advanced negotiation for NOK 115M contract; initiated buy at Stifel
+7.3% VPK.NA (Royal Vopak €46.74, +3.18) -- Q4 earnings
+7.3% FACC.AV (FACC €13.98, +0.96) -- FY earnings
+7.1% ALTA.FP (Altarea €129.00, +8.60) -- FY earnings
+6.6% IPF.LN (International Personal Finance £2.50, +0.16) -- FY earnings; agrees Revised Final Offer at 235p cash + 15p special dividend from BasePoint Capital LLC
+6.2% GOFORE.FH (Gofore €11.58, +0.68) -- Q4 earnings
+6.1% STJ.LN (St. James's Place £13.35, +0.76) -- FY earnings
+5.7% HSX.LN (Hiscox £15.37, +0.84) -- FY earnings
+5.7% SK.FP (SEB €53.95, +2.90) -- FY earnings; Rebound Plan
+5.3% HMSO.LN (Hammerson £3.68, +0.19) -- FY earnings
+5.1% ETL.FP (Eutelsat Communications €2.36, +0.12)
+5.0% ALSYDB.DC (Sydbank DKK563.50, +26.50) -- FY26 guidance; DKK1.1B share buyback program
+4.9% NKT.DC (NKT A/S DKK813.00, +38.00) -- FY earnings
+4.8% OPM.FP (OPmobility €17.89, +0.81) -- FY earnings
+4.7% ODL.NO (Odfjell Drilling NOK111.40, +5.00) -- Q4 earnings
+4.6% CBK.GR (Commerzbank €35.49, +1.59) -- Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgrade
+4.5% LECN.SW (Leclanché CHF0.12, +0.01) -- new CFO
+4.5% SAN.SM (Banco Santander €11.08, +0.48) -- strategic plan for 2026-2028
+4.3% ROVI.SM (Laboratorios Farmaceuticos Rovi, S.A. €80.70, +3.35) -- FY earnings
+4.1% BMPS.IM (Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena €8.76, +0.34) -- Italy to not take part in selecting new board at Monte dei Paschi - Reuters
+3.9% BSL.GR (Basler €16.22, +0.60)
+3.2% CAPD.LN (Capital £1.47, +0.05) -- contracts update
+3.1% SHC.LN (Shaftesbury Capital £1.52, +0.05) -- FY earnings
+2.9% ELE.SM (Endesa €35.17, +1.01) -- BNP Paribas Exane upgrade
+2.3% CNA.LN (Centrica £1.95, +0.04) -- UK's Ofgem announces the energy price cap for Q2 of 2026 down (7%)
Trading Lower:
-14.5% MEGP.LN (ME Group International £1.26, -0.21) -- delay in FY25 audited financial statements
-12.8% DGE.LN (Diageo £16.02, -2.41) -- H1 earnings
-12.5% KAMUX.FH (Kamux €1.84, -0.26) -- Q4 earnings
-7.7% BB.FP (Bic €52.50, -4.40) -- FY earnings
-7.5% RI.FP (Pernod Ricard €77.16, -6.28)
-6.0% ORIOLA.FH (Oriola €1.06, -0.07) -- Q4 earnings
-5.5% GF.SW (Georg Fischer CHF51.85, -3.00) -- FY earnings
-4.9% ADP.FP (Aeroport de Paris €116.00, -6.10) -- holder Vinci launches €500M bonds exchangeable for existing shares of Groupe ADP due 2031
-3.8% VRLA.FP (Verallia €19.49, -0.78) -- FY earnings
-3.5% EDEN.FP (Edenred €18.31, -0.67) -- decision of the Brazilian Federal Regional court on the meal and food voucher system
-3.4% BEI.GR (Beiersdorf €106.00, -3.70) -- Deutsche Bank downgrade
-2.6% ITP.FP (Interparfums €24.38, -0.64) -- FY earnings
-2.4% JET2.LN (Jet2 £12.52, -0.31) -- FY trading update
EU companies reporting tomorrow:
Earnings:
Austria: Erste Group Bank (EBS.AV)
Belgium: UCB (UCB.BB), Syensqo (SYENS.BB), DEME Group (DEME.BB), CMB.TECH (CMBT.BB), Shurgard Self Storage (SHUR.BB), Bekaert (BEKB.BB), Banqup Group (BANQ.BB)
Denmark: Royal Unibrew (RBREW.DC), Brødrene A & O Johansen (AOJ.B.DC), GrønlandsBANKEN (GRLA.DC), TCM Group (TCM.DC)
Finland: Citycon (CTY1S.FH), Qt Group (QTCOM.FH), Keskisuomalainen (KSL.FH), Nanoform Finland (NANOFH.FH)
France: Schneider Electric (SU.FP), AXA (CS.FP), ENGIE (ENGI.FP), Compagnie de Saint-Gobain (SGO.FP), Veolia Environnement (VIE.FP), Bouygues (EN.FP), Getlink (GET.FP), Technip Energies (TE.FP), Arkema (AKE.FP), Wendel (MF.FP), Teleperformance (TEP.FP), Lisi (FII.FP), Sopra Steria Group (SOP.FP), VusionGroup (VU.FP), Clariane (CLARI.FP), Planisware (PLNW.FP), Viridien (VIRI.FP), SMCP (SMCP.FP), Bonduelle (BON.FP), Casino Guichard-Perrachon (CO.FP)
Germany: Deutsche Telekom (DTE.GR), Allianz (ALV.GR), Munich Re (MUV2.GR), Covestro (1COV.GR), Puma (PUM.GR), HENSOLDT (HAG.GR), Kion Group (KGX.GR), Scout24 (G24.GR), flatexDEGIRO (FTK.GR), Aixtron (AIXA.GR), Befesa (BFSA.GR), Adtran Networks (ADV.GR), Gerresheimer (GXI.GR), Hamborner REIT (HABA.GR)
Greece: Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (HTO.GA), HELLENiQ ENERGY Holdings (ELPE.GA)
Italy: Eni (ENI.IM), Juventus Football Club (JUVE.IM), IGD SIIIQ (IGD.IM), doValue (DOV.IM)
Netherlands: CTP (CTPNV.NA), SBM Offshore (SBMO.NA), Aalberts (AALB.NA), Van Lanschot Kempen (VLK.NA), Corbion (CRBN.NA)
Norway: Subsea 7 (SUBC.NO), Hafnia (HAFNI.NO), Endur (ENDUR.NO), Måsøval (MAS.NO), Cambi (CAMBI.NO), Zalaris (ZAL.NO), Thor Medical (TRMED.NO), Prosafe (PRS.NO), Norse Atlantic (NORSE.NO), Omda (OMDA.NO), Norcod (NCOD.NO), Awilco LNG (ALNG.NO), IDEX Biometrics (IDEX.NO)
Portugal: EDP-Energias de Portugal (EDP.PL)
Spain: Acciona (ANA.SM), Grifols (GRF.SM), Fluidra (FDR.SM), Viscofan (VIS.SM), Elecnor (ENO.SM), Solaria Energia (SLR.SM), Distribuidora Internacional De Alimentacion (DIA.SM), Gestamp Automoción (GEST.SM), FAES Farma (FAE.SM), CIE Automotive (CIE.SM), Inmobiliaria Colonial SOCIMI (COL.SM), eDreams ODIGEO (EDR.SM), Vocento (VOC.SM)
Sweden: Egetis Therapeutics (EGTX.SS), BioInvent International (BINV.SS), Done.ai Group (DONE.SS), LumenRadio (LUMEN.SS), Sensys Gatso Group (SGG.SS), Mentice (MNTC.SS), Saniona (SANION.SS), AlzeCure Pharma (ALZCUR.SS)
Switzerland: Sulzer (SUN.SW), Clariant (CLN.SW), Idorsia (IDIA.SW), Zehnder Group (ZEHN.SW), Bystronic (BYS.SW), Rieter Holding (RIEN.SW), medmix (MEDX.SW), Feintool International Holding (FTON.SW), Calida Holding (CALN.SW), Kudelski (KUD.SW)
UK: Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.LN), London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.LN), Howden Joinery Group (HWDN.LN), Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK.LN), Man Group (EMG.LN), Drax Group (DRX.LN), WPP Group (WPP.LN), SEPLAT Energy (SEPL.LN), Genus (GNS.LN), Greencoat UK Wind (UKW.LN), Derwent London (DLN.LN), Ocado Group (OCDO.LN), Pantheon International (PIN.LN), Burford Capital (BUR.LN), CVS Group (CVSG.LN), Jupiter Fund Management (JUP.LN), PPHE Hotel Group (PPH.LN), Vanquis Banking Group (VANQ.LN), Wilmington (WIL.LN), Mobico Group (MCG.LN), Macfarlane Group (MACF.LN), Avation (AVAP.LN)
Trading Update:
France: GENFIT (GNFT.FP), Bonduelle (BON.FP), Casino Guichard-Perrachon (CO.FP)
UK: Tate & Lyle (TATE.LN)
CMD/Events: Poste Italiane (PST.IM), Gjensidige Forsikring (GJF.NO), Getlink (GET.FP), KBC Group (KBC.BB)
Data:
Economics:
Eurozone Jan CPI +1.7% y/y vs preliminary +1.7%; (0.6%) m/m vs preliminary (0.5%)
Jan core CPI +2.2% y/y vs preliminary +2.2%
Germany
Mar GfK Consumer Confidence (24.7) vs cons (23.1) and prior revised (24.2) from (24.1)
Q4 GDP +0.4% y/y vs prelim +0.4%
France Feb Consumer Confidence 91 vs cons 90 and prior 90
Switzerland Feb ZEW Expectations 9.8 vs consensus (1.0) and prior (4.7)
Spain Jan PPI (2.9%) y/y vs cons (3.2%) and prior (3.0%)
Norway Jan Unemployment Rate 4.6% vs cons 4.3% and prior 4.3%
Sweden Jan PPI (2.0%) y/y vs cons (3.9%) and prior (2.7%)
Austria Jan CPI +2.0% y/y vs prelim +2.0%
Markets:
WTI Crude (Apr 26): ($0.20) or (0.30%) to $65.43
€-$ +0.0028 or +0.24% to 1.1803
£-$ +0.0053 or +0.39% to 1.3540
€-£ (0.0013) to 0.8715
S&P 500 +0.61%
Performance year-to-date
FTSE 100: +8.81%
DAX: +2.80%
CAC: +5.03%
MIB: +4.95%
Stoxx 600: +6.97%
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