May 18 ,2026
Synopsis:
European equity markets generally reversed initial declines, with pan-European indices ending below the best levels of the day seen in the middle of the afternoon. Iran headlines and UK political risk in focus.
Pan-European indices opened lower, before quickly beginning to pare losses, then ratcheting higher around mid- session ahead of Wall Street's open.
Denmark and Italy both (1.3%) led underperformers and are amongst the handful of country benchmarks ending lower on the day. Norway +1.2% joins DAX and FTSE100 in leading outperformers
In central banks, ECB's Elderson was a panellist at the 3rd Sustainability Standards Conf and BOE's Greene panellist at FT business of luxury summit (through Tue) whilst Hungary central bank's Lamfalussy lectures conf saw Austria central bank's Kocher and Hungary central bank's Varga speak, BOE's Mann panellist, whilst Netherland central bank's former President Knot is a panellist at 12noon. BOE's Benjamin on a roundtable at Univ. of Glasgow 'Does bank capital still matter? Rethinking regulation for growth and stability' and ECB's Montagner spoke at conf organised by European University Institute/Bank Policy Institute.
City Week (through Tue) was due to have a speech by Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister Rigby (before mini reshuffle on Fri that saw Rachel Blake appointed new City minister).
Elsewhere, G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in France (through Tue), ECB's Lagarde and Cipollone among the participants.
In politics, Chancellor Merz hosts Bulgarian PM Radev and will discuss bilateral cooperation as well as issues of European and international security policy. A joint press conf will follow. There's a meeting of EU's Foreign Affairs Council (Development) whilst EU's von der Leyen delivered a keynote speech at the European Round Table for Industry's (ERT) spring plenary and EU's Šuica participated in the MED9 interior ministers' conf.
Indian PM Modi in Norway (through Tue) attends Norwegian-Indian Business and Research Conf.
In the UK, the focus remains on PM Starmer leadership as the selection process for the Labour Party candidate for the Makerfield constituency by-election sees applications close (Andy Burnham, potential challenger to PM, set to apply (Party's NEC will endorse a candidate on Thur)). Parliamentary business saw MPs continuing to debate on the King's Speech with focus on backing business to create economic growth, whilst committee topic included large business tax compliance (HMRC execs), the impact of biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse on the UK's national security and protection of the UK's undersea cables from surveillance and sabotage.
EU Parliament (EP) sees a plenary session get underway this evening.
In Denmark, following a weekend meetings with a number of parties, royal investigator Poulsen (V) will spend the day reviewing a number of differing political proposals before continue with the negotiations.
Companies releasing earnings/updates included Sonova Holding (SOON.SW) reports FY normalized EBITA CHF811.2M vs consensus CHF780.8M, raises dividend +7% y/y and guides FY26/27, Capita (CPI.LN) 4M trading update; says adj. Group revenue up 2.9% y/y, in line with expectations and to hold investor update after the summer once contact centre disposal completes. Appoints of Oasis's Daniel Wosner as a Non Executive Director; Oasis stake in Capita is 15.21% and Ryanair Holdings (RYA.ID) reports FY EPS €2.04 vs FactSet €2.08 [19 est, €2.00-2.17] and says it's far too early to provide any meaningful FY27 profit guidance at this time, cites zero H2 visibility and significant fuel price/potential supply volatility.
M&A news flow included Publicis (PUB.FP) agrees to acquire LiveRamp, Anglo American (AAL.LN) agrees to sell its portfolio of steelmaking coal mines in Australia to Dhilmar Ltd. for cash consideration of up to $3.875B, and Sveafastigheter (SVEAF.SS) and KlaraBo (KLARA.B.SS) agreeing to merge in all share transaction with Sveafastigheter as the surviving entity. Reportedly, PolyPeptide Group (PPGN.SW) shortlists EQT (EQT.SS) and IDG Capital in next round of bidding and KKR among suitors preparing for Rio Tinto's (RIO.LN) infrastructure sale.
Elsewhere, Glencore (GLEN.LN) comments on ruling on Collahuasi copper mine environmental permit, does not currently expect any immediate impact on production and Corvex Management sends letter to Whitbread (WTB.LN), calls for sale of company.
Also, Homeco (+HOMECO.NO) postpones listing on Euronext Oslo Børs and InstallatørGruppen announces its intention to pursue an IPO on the Nasdaq Copenhagen through ABG Sundal Collier, DNB Carnegie
Digest:
Sectors - STOXX Europe 600:
Outperformers:
Media +2.50%, Oil & Gas +2.00%, Travel & Leisure +1.67%, Utilities +1.63%, Retail +1.55%, Telecom +1.41%, Insurance +1.24%, Real Estate +0.94%, Financial Svcs +0.87%, Food & Beverage +0.67%, Persnl & HHold Goods +0.61%, Chemicals +0.38%
Underperformers:
Autos & Parts (0.76%), Technology (0.43%), Construct & Mtls (0.42%), Basic Resources (0.38%), Health Care (0.26%), Banks (0.19%), Ind Goods & Svcs +0.15%
Macro/Peripheral markets:
ECB:
Energy security and industrial competitiveness: the case for a European Energy Union - Occasional Papers Series
Germany:
Greece:
Former PM Tsipras will launch his new political party on 26-May - ekathimerini
Italy:
EU rejects PM Meloni's call for the EU to relax fiscal rules so governments can spend more aggressively on energy-crisis support -- Reuters
Norway:
EU Commission announces the inclusion of Norway as a new member country in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region - release
Spain:
Sweden:
Government receives another application to establish a new nuclear power park with small modular reactors in Norrsundet - release
UK:
IMF forecasts 1.0% growth in 2026 and once the energy price shock dissipates, growth should recover in H2 of 2027 and stabilize around potential in the medium term - release
Andy Burnham says he won't push for Britain to rejoin the EU - Guardian
BoE is facing calls to stop its bond-selling program due to the recent rise in UK borrowing costs - London Times
UK job postings edge lower amid Easter holiday lull and Gulf headwinds - REC
57% of businesses say a combination of supply chain pressures and higher energy and fuel costs are among their biggest challenges - BDO
Company news:
Notable Gainers
+10.2% SEYE.SS (Smart Eye) -- Q1 EPS (SEK0.59) vs year-ago (SEK1.47)
+8.7% TPRO.IM (Technoprobe) -- buy from neutral at BofA
+8.1% CPI.LN (Capita) -- 4M trading update; says adj. Group revenue up 2.9% y/y, in line with expectations; to hold investor update after the summer once contact centre disposal completes
+7.9% SOON.SW (Sonova Holding) -- FY normalized EBITA CHF811.2M vs consensus CHF780.8M, raises dividend +7% y/y, guides FY26/27
+7.8% STAF.LN (Staffline Group) -- AGM trading update: guides 4M26 gross profit +14.6% y/y
+5.6% WVIA.LN (Winvia Entertainment) -- to buy Rev Corp. for £11.8M in cash
+5.6% FLS.DC (FLSmidth & Co.) -- buy from hold at Nordea
+5.5% PUB.FP (Publicis) -- to acquire LiveRamp (RAMP) for $38.50/share in cash, or EV of $2.17B (€1.86B) total
+5.4% SRT3.GR (Sartorius) -- Elliott builds sizeable stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories and will push company to boost stock price; also has large investment in Sartorius - media report
+5.3% IP.IM (Interpump Group) -- Q1 net income €57.4M vs year-ago €57.0M; buy from hold at Kepler Cheuvreux
+4.8% RYA.ID (Ryanair Holdings) -- FY EPS €2.04 vs FactSet €2.08 [19 est, €2.00-2.17], adj net income €2.26B vs FactSet €2.21B, provides commentary on fares and costs
+4.8% DB1.GR (Deutsche Börse) -- TCI Fund Management holds 5.15% stake in Deutsche Börse - filing; Reuters cites source saying TCI is long-term investor and no activist role planned
+3.9% SLR.SM (Solaria Energia) -- reports Q1 net income €80.4M vs FactSet €19.7M [3 est, €15.7-25M]
+3.2% HAS.LN (Hays) -- appoints Mark Dearnley as CEO with immediate effect, having served as interim CEO since 27-Feb
+2.9% CLBS.LN (Celebrus Technologies) -- launches up to 1.0M share buyback; to run from today up to 18-Aug
+2.7% TSCO.LN (Tesco) -- initiated overweight at Morgan Stanley
+2.6% KESKOB.FH (Kesko) -- Apr sales from cont. ops €1.15B, +4.8% in comparable terms
+2.4% PPC.GA (Public Power Corp.) -- launches offering of new shares aiming to raise ~ €4B through Citi, Goldman, JPMorgan
+2.1% SKF.B.SS (SKF) -- Dagens Industri out with buy recommendation
+2.1% ORK.NO (Orkla) -- Food Ingredients subsidiary Orchard Foods Valley Ltd to acquire Phoenix Brands Ltd
On earnings/updates: ANIC.LN (Agronomics), HAW.GR (Hawesko Holding), ECR.SM (Ercros) and reversing initial falls AIA.GA (Athens International Airport), KNOS.LN (Kainos Group)
Notable Decliners
-16.8% AMS.LN (Advanced Medical Solutions Group) -- board notes announcement by TA confirming that it does not intend to make offer for AMS
-8.8% MGN.NO (Magnora) -- currently expects previously disclosed planned IPO of the data center business to occur in Q2 of 2026, subject to market conditions
-6.5% GENO.NO (General Oceans) -- Q1 adj EBITDA NOK59M vs FactSet NOK70.5M [2 est, NOK64-77M]
-6.2% BWO.NO (BW Offshore) -- Q1 net income $23.4M vs year-ago $62.2M, guides FY adj EBITDA $310-340M vs prior guidance $340-370M and FactSet $345.6M [1 est]
-5.6% ALLEI.SS (Alleima) -- Dagens Industri out with sell recommendation
-5.2% FUTR.LN (Future) -- hold from buy at Stifel
-4.5% VTY.LN (Vistry Group) -- workers to stop work on some housing projects in order to preserve cash -- Sunday Times
-4.5% CHRT.LN (Cohort) -- initiated hold at Jefferies
-4.0% HEM.SS (Hemnet Group) -- Apr Net Sales SEK 116.6M vs year-ago SEK 147.9M
-3.3% OXIG.LN (Oxford Instruments) -- downgraded to hold from buy at Berenberg
-2.9% TWEKA.NO (TKH Group) -- neutral from outperform at Oddo
-2.4% BURE.SS (Bure Equity) -- Q1 EPS SEK243.20 vs year-ago SEK267.20
On earnings/updates: and reversing initial gains HWG.LN (Harworth Group)
EU companies reporting tomorrow:
Earnings:
Austria Oberbank (OBS.AV), Rosenbauer International (ROS.AV)
Benelux: Aedifica (AED.BB), CMB.TECH (CMBT.BB)
Denmark: United International Enterprises (UIE.DC), Matas (MATAS.DC)
Finland: Nanoform Finland (NANOFH.FH)
France: Euronext (ENX.FP), Aramis Group (ARAMI.FP)
Germany: Hornbach Holding (HBH.GR), Heidelberger Druckmaschinen (HDD.GR), Gabler Group (XK4.GR), Jadestone Energy (8KW.GR), Dr. Hönle (HNL.GR)
Norway: Bakkafrost (BAKKA.NO), Archer (ARCH.NO)
Southern Europe: Fourlis Holdings (FOYRK.GA)
Sweden: NIBE Industrier (NIBE.B.SS), Lagercrantz Group (LAGR.B.SS), Cantargia (CANTA.SS), Isofol Medical (ISOFOL.SS)
UK: Diploma (DPLM.LN), DCC (DCC.LN), Cranswick (CWK.LN), SSP Group (SSPG.LN), Martens (DOCS.LN), C&C Group (CCR.LN), Avacta Group (AVCT.LN), Victorian Plumbing Group (VIC.LN), Topps Tiles (TPT.LN)
Trading Update:
UK: Currys (CURY.LN), Forterra (FORT.LN)
Traffic: VINCI (DG.FP)
CMD/Events: Oma Savings Bank (OMASP.FH), Orrön Energy (ORRON.SS) business update call, ATEME (ATEME.FP) tech day
Data:
Economics:
UK May house price index (0.3%) y/y vs prior (0.9%), +1.2% m/m vs prior +0.8% - Rightmove
Switzerland Q1 preliminary GDP +0.5% q/q vs consensus +0.3%, prior +0.1%
Italy Mar trade balance €4.71B vs consensus €5.2B, prior revised €4.98B from €4.94B
Markets:
WTI Crude (Jun 26): +$1.47 or +1.39% to $106.89
€-$ +0.0020 or +0.17% to 1.1644
£-$ +0.0071 or +0.53% to 1.3396
€-£ (0.0032) to 0.8691
S&P 500 (0.38%)
Performance year-to-date:
FTSE 100: +3.68%
DAX: (0.99%)
CAC: (2.20%)
MIB: +7.86%
Stoxx 600: +2.85%
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