[MARKET ANALYSIS] NQ slumps following disappointing GOOGL earnings; Shell announces its largest buyback

European bourses are broadly firmer to start Thursday’s trade, with it being the busiest earnings day for Q3 in Europe. France’s CAC 40 (+0.7%) leads while the IBEX (-1.1%) lags. Outside of earnings (see more below), a modest boost across the equity space was seen following a Semafor report stating that the US administration is reportedly pursuing negotiations for a temporary peace agreement with Iran, although significant obstacles remain. Starting with earnings in South Korea for Samsung Electronics (-4.1%), its chip profit surged 15-fold Y/Y, driven by strong AI demand, but shares declined as investors were disappointed by the absence of new shareholder-return plans. To add, the chipmaker plans to increase FY26 CAPEX by more than 60% to KRW 84.4tln, after selling out of high-end chips for 2027. Moving to European earnings: STMicro -0.4%, Q3 metrics were mixed but its Q4 revenue guidance beat expectations (USD 4.15bln vs exp. USD 4.11bln); BBVA -5.8%, net income beat however, the metric missed for the Spanish region; ING -3.8%, metrics missed consensus across the board and plans 400 job cuts; Shell +3.1%, adj. profit beat and announces a USD 5bln share buyback programme; Lloyds -3.7%, PBT beat estimates but disappoints investors by not lifting guidance. US equity futures are mixed, with clear underperformance in the NQ following disappointing Alphabet (-10.2% pre-market earnings, in which EPS and revenue missed expectations, resulting in shares slumping pre-market. On the other hand, Microsoft (+3.6%) is higher pre-market after stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue, driven by robust Azure cloud growth and AI demand, alongside an upbeat cloud outlook and continued positive free cash flow.