May 28 ,2026
Synopsis:
European equity markets closed mostly lower Thursday, although off worst levels for the Stoxx Europe 600. US equities mostly higher in Thursday morning trading, near best levels. Several moving pieces in focus. Market evaluating latest headline on progress toward a US-Iran MOU with Axios reporting a deal for a 60-day ceasefire extension has been reached (involving unrestricted Hormuz traffic and no immediate sanctions relief), though Trump has yet to sign off. Recall just yesterday Trump said Iran's recent offers were unsatisfactory and US might have to "finish off" the conflict (though a broad return to kinetic action has been seen as unlikely). Unclear how Iran will respond to latest headlines. Investors also digesting a softer batch of economic data, including slightly cooler core PCE inflation. Busier on the earnings calendar with SNOW the big gainer in tech with AI tailwind in focus (and helping software).
In Europe, more ECB rhetoric to digest with chief economist Lane highlighting persistent impact on inflation from Iran war. April ECB minutes said by June meeting will have additional information to offer clarity on impact of Iran war and implications for policy. Reports that EU set to expand import quota and tariffs to target Chinese goods. On the macro data front, European Commission economic sentiment indicator saw modest improvement in May amid a pickup in services confidence. Italian business confidence held steady and consumer sentiment improved. UK car production fell in April due to weak China exports. Survey of UK food and drink producers showed majority plan to increase prices, underpinning expectations of higher inflation.
On the corporate front, Elekta (EKTA.B.SS) reported mixed set of Q4 results; shares slid (13%) as focus was on lower-than-expected Americas sales growth and 15% order intake decline. Soitec (SOI.FP) shares up nearly 25% on FY results and guidance; analysts at Bernstein noted it was solid print with a Photonics-SOI milestone and FCF beat as the key positives and what it thinks should be seen as an in-line 1Q27 guidance. Salvatore Ferragamo (SFER.IM) shares rose 12% on news it is to commence €53M buyback.
In M&A, Uber raised its stake in Delivery Hero (DHER.GR) to ~36.8% from ~25.1%, reportedly paying just under €40/share. Elsewhere, the UK government would oppose Bharti lifting its stake in BT Group (BT.A.LN), as per the FT. PPHE Hotel Group (PPH.LN) received an indicative proposal from Fattal Hotel Group regarding a possible cash offer for the company at a price of £22 per share.
Digest:
Sectors - STOXX Europe 600:
Outperformers:
Technology +1.23%, Basic Resources +0.70%, Autos & Parts +0.31%, Ind Goods & Svcs +0.28%, Chemicals +0.04%, Retail (0.04%), Real Estate (0.07%)
Underperformers:
Insurance (1.97%), Food & Beverage (1.67%), Financial Svcs (1.13%), Utilities (1.05%), Construct & Mtls (0.99%), Telecom (0.97%), Banks (0.91%), Media (0.81%), Health Care (0.65%), Persnl & HHold Goods (0.49%), Oil & Gas (0.49%), Travel & Leisure (0.46%)
Macro:
Geopolitics
EU heavyweights back industrial accelerator as China shock fears grow (SCMP )
Central banks
April ECB minutes signal June meeting as key for policy reassessment (link)
Italy
Meloni at odds with defence minister over EU rearmament loans (FT)
UK
Starmer Pushes to Avoid 'Lost Generation' of Jobless Youth (Bloomberg)
Greece
Tsipras formally registers his new ELAS party (ekathimerini)
Company news:
Notable Gainers
+24.7% SOI.FP (SOITEC €176.60, +38.10) -- earnings
+21.2% PPH.LN (PPHE Hotel Group £20.35, +3.42) -- received an indicative proposal from Fattal Hotel Group regarding a possible cash offer for the company at a price of £22 per share.
+12.0% SFER.IM (Salvatore Ferragamo €9.21, +1.04) -- buyback
+10.9% EDR.SM (eDreams ODIGEO €3.74, +0.37) -- earnings
+10.0% PARRO.FP (Parrot €0.00, +1.02) -- sympathy move on report US government in talks to provide financing to drone companies
+7.4% SAAB.B.SS (Saab SEK557.80, +39.50) -- partnership
+7.4% SAAB.B.SS (Saab SEK557.80, +39.50) -- announces Ukraine intends to acquire an initial batch of up to 20 Gripen E/F and that Sweden intends to donate up to 16 Gripen C/D to Ukraine
+6.1% BIOVIC.B.SS (Biovica International SEK0.33, +0.02) -- new phase III data
+5.8% GRE.SM (Grenergy Renovables €128.00, +7.00) -- target up at RBC Capital Markets
+5.5% MTRO.LN (Metro Bank Holdings £1.67, +0.09) -- target up at RBC Capital Markets
+5.2% SGL.GR (SGL Carbon €4.73, +0.25) -- initiated neutral at Oddo
+5.1% ALFOR.FP (Forsee Power €0.31, +0.01) -- MoU
+5.0% RHM.GR (Rheinmetall €1,276.20, +61.40) -- order
+3.9% NVM.GR (Novem Group €2.68, +0.10) -- prelim earnings
+3.6% JIN.NO (Jinhui Shipping & Transportation NOK6.40, +0.22) -- ex-div today
+2.9% COSH.NO (Constellation Oil Services Holding NOK143.00, +4.00) -- earnings
+2.2% TRMED.NO (Thor Medical NOK4.69, +0.10) -- partnership
+2.1% PEN.NO (Panoro Energy NOK32.05, +0.65) -- Danske Bank upgrade
+0.7% HEX.NO (Hexagon Composites NOK10.22, +0.07) -- target up at SEB
+0.6% SOP.FP (Sopra Steria Group €144.60, +0.90) -- acquisition
+0.5% CCC.LN (Computacenter £42.98, +0.22) -- acquisition
+0.2% DHER.GR (Delivery Hero €37.74, +0.06) -- Uber (UBER) increases stake in Delivery Hero SE to ~36.8% from prior ~25.1% -- filing
Notable Decliners
-13.2% EKTA.B.SS (Elekta SEK54.85, -8.10) -- earnings
-7.8% IQE.LN (IQE £0.50, -0.04) -- earnings
-6.1% HAFNI.NO (Hafnia NOK72.10, -4.60) -- Pareto downgrade
-5.1% 1AST.GR (ASTA Energy Solutions AG €72.40, -3.80) -- earnings
-4.1% BT.A.LN (BT Group £2.10, -0.09) -- UK would oppose any attempt from Bharti Enterprises to increase stake in BT - FT
-3.7% ADYEN.NA (Adyen €942.30, -35.50) -- CFO steps down
-3.2% ACTI.SS (Active Biotech SEK0.07, -0.00) -- announces timetable for reverse share split
-3.1% EVN.AV (EVN AG €28.65, -0.90) -- earnings
-3.0% HEIA.NA (Heineken €69.10, -2.10) -- Deutsche Bank downgrade
-3.0% WRT1V.FH (Wartsila €35.69, -1.10) -- UBS downgrade
-2.8% 9Q9.GR (Azerion Group €1.03, -0.03) -- earnings
-2.7% VIG.AV (Vienna Insurance Group €60.60, -1.70) -- earnings
-2.6% SCHO.DC (Schouw & Co DKK668.00, -18.00) -- BioMar (BIOMAR.DC) IPO
-2.4% AGN.NA (Aegon €7.24, -0.18) -- agreement
-1.9% BSLN.SW (Basilea Pharmaceutica CHF51.70, -1.00) -- further funding
-1.7% NKT.DC (NKT A/S DKK1,066.00, -18.00) -- DNB Carnegie downgrade; chairman sells shares
-1.4% GMAB.DC (Genmab DKK1,676.50, -24.50) -- NICE recommendation
-1.4% RWE.GR (RWE €55.12, -0.76) -- RWE considering buying further stake in Amprion; seller would likely be consortium led by Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe -- Handelsblatt, citing sources
-0.7% NORION.SS (Norion Bank SEK58.20, -0.40) -- fine
-0.2% ULTP.LN (Ultimate Products £0.53, -0.00) -- trading update
EU companies reporting tomorrow:
Earnings:
Austria: UNIQA Insurance Group (UQA.AV), CPI PROPERTY GROUP (O5G.GR),
Germany: FamiCord (V3V.GR), CORESTATE Capital Holding (CCAP.GR)
Norway: Paratus Energy Services (PLSV.NO), SED Energy Holdings (ENH.NO), Ventura Offshore Holding (VTURA.NO), Axactor (ACR.NO), Prosafe (PRS.NO), IDEX Biometrics (IDEX.NO)
Other: Aeroflot (AFLT.RU)
Southern Europe: Ibersol SGPS (IBS.PL)
Sweden: Anoto Group (ANOT.SS)
Switzerland: Dottikon ES Holding (DESN.SW)
Trading Update:
DACHs: Nynomic (M7U.GR)
Data:
Economics:
Norway Q1 GDP +0.4% q/q vs consensus +0.9% and prior (0.3%)
Sweden Apr Trade Balance (SEK7.3B) vs consensus SEK4.4B and prior revised SEK6.9B from SEK9.3B
France Apr PPI +2.1% y/y vs consensus +5.6% and prior revised 0.0% from +0.2% (2:45ET)
Spain Apr Retail Sales +0.8% y/y vs consensus +3.7% and prior +4.1%
Italy May Business Confidence 87.9 vs consensus 87.5 and prior 87.9
Eurozone May Economic Sentiment Indicator 93.5 vs consensus 92.8 and prior revised 93.2 from 93.0
Markets:
WTI Crude (Jul 26): +$0.98 or +1.11% to $89.66
€-$ +0.0028 or +0.24% to 1.1655
£-$ +0.0007 or +0.05% to 1.3435
€-£ +0.0012 to 0.8672
S&P 500 +0.53%
Performance year-to-date
FTSE 100: +5.05%
DAX: +2.46%
CAC: +0.48%
MIB: +10.86%
Stoxx 600: +5.56%
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