14. Aug 2026
Description
(AWP Alliance News) - European equities are called higher and oil slightly lower as the week draws to a close, with the US making fresh threats of economic action against Iran.
Here is what you need to know before the European market open on Friday:
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MARKETS
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CAC 40: called up 11.9 points, 0.1%, at 8,662.46
DAX 40: called up 124.8 points, 0.5%, at 26,424.54
FTSE 100: called up 39.0 points, 0.4%, at 10,811.67
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Hang Seng: down 0.9% at 25,160.25
Nikkei 225: up 0.4% at 68,611.09
S&P/ASX 200: down 1.0% at 9,097.20
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DJIA: closed up 69.72 points, 0.1%, at 53,839.99
S&P 500: closed up 50.49 points, 0.7%, at 7,798.99
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 214.54 points, 0.8%, at 26,803.03
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US 10-year Treasury yield: 4.66% (4.64%)
US 30-year Treasury yield: 5.22% (5.21%)
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EUR: up at USD1.1537 (USD1.1535)
GBP: down at USD1.3495 (USD1.3498)
USD: up at JPY159.36 (JPY159.33)
GOLD: down at USD4,324.50 per ounce (USD4,369.95)
OIL (Brent): down at USD87.02 a barrel (USD87.87)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMIC CALENDAR
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08:30 EDT Canada capacity utilization
08:30 EDT Canada manufacturing sales
11:00 CEST eurozone trade balance
11:00 CEST eurozone employment change
11:00 CEST eurozone GDP
08:45 CEST France CPI
08:00 CEST Germany wholesale prices
09:00 CEST Switzerland GDP
08:30 EDT US retail sales
10:00 EDT US Michigan consumer sentiment index
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TOP ECONOMIC NEWS
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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to subject Iran to economic isolation "like the world has never seen before," adding that new measures are expected next week. "It will be a combination of economic isolation, like the world has never seen before," Bessent told conservative television network Newsmax, adding that "the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz... will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports." Bessent described a two-pronged approach featuring financial pressure and a physical blockade of the ports.
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The top US priority in the Iran war is no longer its nuclear program but lowering gas prices down for Americans, Vice President JD Vance said Thursday. Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon - touted by US President Donald Trump as his main reason for the war - now takes a back seat to getting oil flowing again freely through the strait, Vance said in an interview. Republicans fear Trump and the war, which has caused gasoline prices to soar, will cost them their control of Congress, with midterm elections approaching in November. "I know that oil is down today and it's way down from the highs in the early days of the conflict," Vance said on Fox News. "That's goal number one - keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country." He added: "And then obviously goal number two is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon." Trump had said recently he would hold off on attacking Iran again only if an agreement were reached quickly to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has set a list of conditions for reopening the passageway: an end to the war on all fronts, the lifting of the US blockade of Iranian ports, the end of sanctions, the release of frozen assets and compensation for wartime damage.
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The UAE condemned an Iranian attack it said targeted two vessels linked to state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil as they passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE foreign ministry in a statement denounced what it called "the hostile Iranian attack that targeted two vessels affiliated with ADNOC as they transited the Strait of Hormuz, with no injuries reported".
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US President Donald Trump announced tariffs of up to 100% on imports of unmanned drones and their components to reduce US reliance on imports in an industry dominated by China. Trump justified the decision on national security grounds, according to a White House statement, detailing a 100% duty rate on the import of certain unmanned aircraft systems, including those with a take-off weight of more than 25 kilogrammes and with national security capabilities such as thermal imagers and docking stations. Smaller drones face a 25% tariff. The statement said the tariffs will "encourage increased domestic production" of drones and their components and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.
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US working natural gas inventories increased by 1.2% last week, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration. Working gas in underground storage in the Lower 48 states rose by 36 billion cubic feet to 3,153 billion cubic feet in the week ended August 7, from 3,117 billion cubic feet a week earlier. Gas stocks were 25 billion cubic feet, or 0.8%, below the level recorded a year earlier but were 198 billion cubic feet, or 6.7%, above the five-year average of 2,955 billion cubic feet.
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Moscow rejected as "unfounded" remarks by Japan following President Vladimir Putin's visit to Russia's far-eastern Kuril Islands, which are also claimed by Japan. "We categorically reject these statements, which we consider politically inappropriate, insulting and, of course, legally unfounded," said a statement from foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters that Putin's visit "offends the sentiments of the Japanese people and is absolutely unacceptable".
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had asked US President Trump in a phone call for an exemption from tariffs slapped on his country last month. "The ask that I made of the president is that he consider full exemption, or at the very least, no increase," Albanese told journalists. In what he described as a "warm and productive" conversation, the US president agreed to consider exempting Australia from that tariff, Albanese said. Australia was slapped with a levy of 12.5% last month over alleged forced labour concerns, along with 59 other countries.
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Australia recorded another quarterly decline in home loan commitments in June, official data showed. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the seasonally adjusted total number of new loan commitments for dwellings fell 5.4% in the June quarter to 134,225 compared with 6.2% decline in the March quarter. However, new loan commitments edged up 0.1% year-on-year, slowing from an 8.6% rise in the previous quarter.
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Far-right British politician Nigel Farage declared a "resounding victory" early Friday but said he would not attend the official result announcement in an unusual by-election that pitted him against stunt candidate Count Binface. Farage made the claim while votes were still being counted in the eastern English constituency of Clacton and before any official result had been declared. Farage has said he will avoid the traditional declaration of results on the advice of local police, amid reports of a planned disruption. The politician, once touted as a potential prime minister, triggered the vote by resigning the parliamentary seat he had held since 2024 over an investigation into his finances. The vote has been shunned by Britain's ruling Labour party as an attempt by Farage to dodge scrutiny of a GBP5 million pound donation from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne. Police also started an investigation last year into donations to Reform before the 2024 election.
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COMPANY CALENDAR
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Aviva PLC - half year results
Halma PLC - dividend payment date
Kingspan Group PLC - half year results
Nagarro SE - half year results
Oxford Instruments PLC - dividend payment date
Primary Health Properties PLC - dividend payment date
Sompo International - Q1 results
Talanx AG - half year results
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TOP COMPANY NEWS
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Lam Research will invest over USD3.0 billion to expand global research and development network over the next five years. The Fremont, California-based designer and manufacturer of semiconductor processing equipment said the build-out will increase experiment capacity by 50%. Lam added specialised facilities, such as for research in new chemistries, materials and mechatronics, will enable it to compress experimental work timelines from weeks "into as little as a few days in many cases."
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Applied Materials said it will be ramping up investment to meet buoyant demand reflected in record third quarter revenue and better-than-expected guidance. The Santa Clara, California-based materials engineering solutions company which supplies the semiconductor industry said net income jumped 43% to USD2.54 billion in the three months ended July 26 from USD1.78 billion the year prior. Revenue increased 25% to a record USD9.12 billion from USD7.30 billion, beating Visible Alpha consensus of USD9.03 billion. Diluted earnings per share rose 43% to USD3.17 from USD2.22. Non-GAAP diluted EPS jumped 41% to USD3.50 from USD2.48, ahead of VA consensus of USD3.41. For its fourth quarter, Applied Materials forecast revenue of USD9.75 billion to USD10.75 billion versus VA consensus of USD9.51 billion, and diluted non-GAAP EPS of USD3.82 to USD4.22 versus USD3.65 consensus.
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Venezuela granted licenses for three foreign companies, including BP, to look for and produce natural gas as the government opens up the energy sector under intense US pressure. Permits went to BP PLC, XRG of the UAE and UCC, a company based in Qatar. The three companies will work to develop a natural gas field called Loran.
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Struggling German sports car maker Porsche plans to end production of the Taycan, its flagship fully electric model, by 2030 after steadily dwindling sales, a report said. The manufacturer announced last year a major rollback of its electric vehicle plans due to weaker-than-expected demand, adding to challenges that range from falling sales in China to penalising US tariffs. Launched in 2019, the Taycan was meant to underscore the Stuttgart-based group's shift away from combustion engines. But sales have been declining, from nearly 41,000 in 2023 to just 16,000 last year, and only 6,000 in the first half of 2026.
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Macquarie announced that Macquarie Asset Management and co-investors UniSuper Ltd and Pontegadea Inversiones SL have completed their investment in Qube Holdings Ltd via a scheme of arrangement valuing the ports and terminals operator at about AUD11.7 billion or USD8.26 billion. The Sydney-based banking and financial services company said the deal is supported by long-term structural trends including demographics, rising demand for goods and services and a growing focus on sovereign capability, alongside Qube's record in supply-chain resilience.
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QBE Insurance lifted its interim dividend after a strong performance in the first half of 2026. The Sydney-based insurance and reinsurance company said net profit rose 1.1% to USD1.03 billion in the six months to June 30 from USD1.02 billion in the first half of 2025. Basic earnings per share increased 4.2% to 68.9 US cents from 66.1 cents. Revenue jumped 10% to USD11.95 billion from USD10.88 billion. Gross written premium climbed 9.5% to USD15.14 billion from USD13.82 billion. QBE declared an interim dividend of 33 Australian cents, up 6.5% from 31 Australian cents a year ago.
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Uber announced an expanded partnership with Pony AI, an autonomous-driving technology company headquartered in Fremont, California and Guangzhou, China, to deploy more than 2,000 Pony.ai robotaxis across Europe. The San Francisco, California-based ride-hailing and food delivery company said the rollout will build on their commercial service in Zagreb and extend to four additional European cities, with further deployment planned in the Middle East. Pony AI, which develops and commercialises level 4 autonomous driving systems and operates paid, fully driverless robotaxi services in China's tier-one cities, will provide its L4 technology, rider experience capabilities and operational expertise. Uber will offer customer access through its global mobility platform, including booking, payments and customer support, alongside its network of human drivers.
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Capricorn Metals announced it has entered a binding agreement to acquire the Piastri project tenement package from Latitude 66, a mineral exploration company headquartered in Perth. Capricorn, a Perth, Australia-focused gold producer, said the Piastri Project tenure lies contiguous to its Golden Range holdings in the mid-west region of Western Australia, adjacent to the Ricciardo deposit. Capricorn will pay AUD1.5 million, approximately USD1.1 million, settling the transaction through the issue of fully paid ordinary Capricorn shares to Latitude 66.
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JD.com posted higher second-quarter pretax profit but saw "moderating top-line momentum." The Beijing-based online direct sales company called the results "a clear inflection in our profit trajectory." Second-quarter net revenue fell 2.9% to CNY346.40 billion, roughly USD513 million, from CNY356.66 billion the year prior. The company attributed its revenue decline to a "high base effect." However, pretax profit jumped 59% to CNY10.66 billion from CNY6.70 billion the year before.
"Our second quarter results reflect our resilient and high-quality operations," said Sandy Xu, chief executive. "Despite near-term revenue headwinds, we achieved strong bottom-line growth".
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CK Hutchison Holdings said it will maintain a "cautious approach" for the rest of 2026, as it reported higher first-half revenue. The Hong Kong-based conglomerate booked revenue of HKD255.39 billion in the six months to June 30, up 6.1% from HKD240.66 billion a year earlier. Underlying earnings improved 6.7% to HKD12.58 billion from HKD11.79 billion. Ports and Related Services revenue totalled HKD24.52 billion, up 3.9% from HKD23.60 billion a year earlier. In March 2025, CK Hutchison said it would offload its ports business outside China to a group led by asset manager BlackRock for USD19 billion in cash. The announcement followed US President Donald Trump's vow to "take back" the Panama Canal from what he said was Chinese control. Looking ahead, CK Hutchison said it expects the operating environment "to remain challenging" for the remainder of the year. The company increased its interim dividend by 5.0% to HKD0.75 per share from HKD0.71 on-year.
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Evotec attributed a downturn in the first half to delayed partnership timelines. The Hamburg, Germany-based drugmaker had cut guidance in July amid lower expected contributions from both existing and potential new strategic partnerships. Revenue for the first half of the year fell 19% to EUR300.1 million from EUR371.2 million the year before while net loss widened to EUR168.6 million from EUR75.1 million the year before. The company cited weak sales to revenue conversion across all business areas and its one-off Sandoz licence sale for the revenue decline. Evotec expects full-year revenue to range from EUR570 million to EUR610 million, down from EUR788.4 million the year before. It expects to swing to an adjusted Ebitda loss of EUR70 million to EUR105 million, from a profit of EUR41.1 million the year before.
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Citigroup has been awarded a full middle office mandate by Aegon AM for USD380 billion in assets under management. The agreement extends the New York-based investment bank and financial services company's long-term agreement with Aegon, an Amsterdam-based investment management firm. Citi will expand its offering to Aegon to include investment book of record services, trade management and settlement and performance measurement through BlackRock Aladdin Accounting platform.
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Ferrovial says it will delist its ordinary shares from Euronext Amsterdam in September 2026 as trading liquidity continues to shift toward Nasdaq and the Spanish stock exchanges. The Amsterdam-based global infrastructure operator says the move aligns with its long-term strategy and simplifies its listing structure, noting that Euronext Amsterdam now accounts for only a small fraction of its average daily trading volume. Ferrovial adds that the Dutch exchange has approved its delisting request, with the final trading day expected on September 10 and the delisting effective the following day. The company will remain listed on Nasdaq and the Spanish markets, where most of its trading activity is concentrated, and will continue to operate under Dutch corporate governance and regulatory requirements.
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By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter
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