US Daily Equity Opening News - BHP rises as copper drives beat; GOOG plans to exit China Pixel production; PSKY seeks USD 1.88bln bond in WBD case; TSLA prepares Austin Cybercab launch; META trial underway

DAY AHEAD: DATA: In Europe, Germany ZEW economic sentiment is expected to rise to 30 (prev. 26.3), with current conditions improving to -68.8 (prev. -77.6); Eurozone ZEW sentiment is seen up to 25.4 (prev. 23.4). In North America, US industrial production (exp. 0.3% M/M), manufacturing output (exp. 0.2% M/M), and capacity utilization (prev. 76.1%) are due. Housing starts are seen easing to 1.35mln (prev. 1.427mln) in July, and building permits are seen little changed at 1.37mln (prev. 1.374mln). July import prices are seen rising 0.1% M/M (prev. 0.3%), while export prices are seen rising 0.2% M/M (prev. -0.6%). Weekly ADP jobs figures (prev. 8,250) and US pending home sales will also be released. After today’s data, the Atlanta Fed will update its Q3 GDPNow tracking estimate (prev. 4.3%). In Canada, housing starts data for July are due. CENTRAL BANKS: ECB chief economist Lane will participate in an EEA-ECB panel on monetary policy in a geopolitically fragmented world (no text expected). SUPPLY: UK auctions GBP 4bln of 2036 Gilts. ENERGY: After the US close, weekly API energy inventory data are due. EARNINGS: Notable corporates reporting today include: Home Depot (HD), Keysight Technologies (KEYS), Baidu (BIDU), Jack Henry (JKHY). NEWS: GEOPOLITICS: US-Iran - An understanding to extend the US-Iran ceasefire under the Islamabad MoU has been reached, and agreed in principle, according to Pakistani journalist Anas Malick. President Trump said Oman does not behave very well, but could be handled easily. He reiterated US control of the Strait of Hormuz and said Iran wants a deal but would not accept the agreement he considers necessary. Trump also said he is not seeking an extension of the Iran MoU. UN-China - Chinese President Xi plans to visit the US for three days next month and meet President Trump on 24th September, while skipping the UN General Assembly in New York, Politico reports. Gaza - Jared Kushner assured Israeli PM Netanyahu that Israeli forces would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas fully disarms and Gaza is demilitarised. Israel and the Board of Peace also agreed demilitarisation should precede reconstruction. Hamas has insisted Israeli withdrawal must come before disarmament, leaving negotiations at an impasse. TRADE: US-South Korea - South Korea denied that semiconductors are being discussed as the first project under its USD 350bln US investment commitment. JoongAng Ilbo reported that Washington had sought investment in US memory chip facilities, complicating plans for an initial energy sector project. Seoul and Washington are still targeting agreement and project announcements as early as late August. US-Canada - US-Canada trade talks remain stalled over auto tariffs, ahead of a 19th August deadline for new 50% US duties. Canada seeks a 10% auto tariff or broader exemptions, while Washington insists on at least 15% and removal of Canadian retaliation. MACRO: US TIC Flows - Foreign holdings of US Treasuries fell by USD 72.1bln in June to USD 9.3tln, now declining in three of the past four months. Japan posted the largest drop, with holdings down USD 26.4bln to USD 1.12tln, while China’s stockpile fell USD 25.9bln to USD 633.4bln. China - China unveiled 18 measures to boost consumption across lower-tier cities, covering retail infrastructure, distribution networks and financial support including improved access to personal consumption loans and interest subsidies, following a string of weak data. Q2 GDP printed at 4.3% (exp. 5%), below China’s 4.5-5% target, while July Industrial Production came in at 4.5% (exp. 5%) and Retail Sales at 0.6% (exp. 1.5%; prev. 1%). Markets are now focus on whether broader stimulus is announced at the September Politburo meeting. China’s Premier Li urged officials to accelerate existing support and formulate practical incremental policies. The government plans faster funding deployment and support for major projects, emerging industries, infrastructure and consumption upgrading. Japan Auction - Japan’s 5-year government bond auction drew its strongest demand since June 2025, supported by elevated yields; bid-to-cover ratio rose to 4.15x (from 3.43x at the previous sale, and 12-month average of 3.34x). UK Jobs - The UK jobless rate was unchanged at 4.9% in June (exp. 4.8%), with 83k jobs being added (prev. 147k); average earnings ex-bonus rose to 3.5% in the three-months to June Y/Y (exp. 3.4%, prev. 3.4%), while inc-bonuses eased to 4.1% (exp. 4.1%, prev. 4.4%). The more timely claimant count for July showed a decline of -11.0k (exp. 11.2k), with -13k change in HMRC payrolls. The ONS said that the labour market landscape was little changed overall, with employment, unemployment and inactivity rates steady. Payrolled employees fell slightly in the latest quarter, while vacancies dropped to their lowest level in over five years, driven mainly by smaller businesses citing labour and operating costs. the stats agency added that regular wage growth has remained broadly stable, though private sector pay growth continued to ease, while public sector pay growth remains elevated due to NHS pay award timing. TECH: Anthropic - Anthropic’s annualised revenue run rate reached USD 65bln by end-July, up more than sevenfold from late 2025, Bloomberg reports. The company generated more than USD 11.5bln in its latest completed quarter and positive adj. operating income. Anthropic could list as soon as this Autumn. Coherent (COHR) - Coherent has begun sampling 300mm high thermal conductivity silicon carbide substrates to AI semiconductor partners, moving the platform from internal development to customer evaluation. It said the technology is designed to address growing thermal management requirements as AI processors reach higher power densities. Fabrinet (FN) - Fabrinet fell 8% in extended trading, with reports suggesting that strong quarterly earnings and revenue were overshadowed by investor concerns around margins, heavy capital spending and the pace of future growth, following a strong run in the shares. Q4 adj. EPS 4.10 (exp. 3.81), Q4 revenue USD 1.32bln (exp. 1.28bln). FY26 revenue +36% Y/Y to USD 4.6bln. Operating margin rose to a three-year high of 10.9%. Data centre revenue +68% Y/Y to USD 669mln, and became the largest category at 51% of sales, with DCI at an annualised run rate above USD 1bln; communications infrastructure revenue +40% Y/Y to USD 413mln. Cisco, Nvidia, Nokia and Amazon each represented at least 10% of FY26 revenue. CEO said the year ended with accelerating growth and strong momentum, and expressed confidence in the durability of these trends into FY27. Sees Q1 adj. EPS between 4.10-4.25 (exp. 3.99), Q1 revenue between USD 1.375-1.425bln (exp. 1.35bln). Parsons (PSN) - Parsons was awarded a USD 664.81mln US Army contract for technical, logistics and programme management support. COMMUNICATIONS: Meta Platforms (META) - Shares continued lower in extended trading; a Federal trial began in California, with 29 state attorneys general alleging Meta knowingly designed Facebook and Instagram to encourage compulsive use among young users. Meta estimates maximum potential penalties of USD 1.4tln, though California put the figure closer to USD 193bln. The trial is expected to last approximately five weeks, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg scheduled to testify. Alphabet (GOOG) - Google has told suppliers it plans to move all Pixel smartphone, watch and earbuds production out of China by 2027, shifting to Vietnam and India, Nikkei reports. The move would make Google the second global brand after Samsung (SSNLF) to decouple smartphone production from China. Google also plans to increase Pixel shipments by 8-10% this year (from around 12mln units), with its latest Pixel 11 flagship. Paramount Skydance (PSKY), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) - Paramount requested a USD 1.88bln bond from 12 states challenging its pending Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Paramount said delays could trigger about USD 650mln quarterly ticking fees after 30th September. The USD 110bln acquisition has regulatory clearance in 68 jurisdictions, including DoJ approval; the states’ antitrust case is set for trial in March. CONSUMER CYCLICAL: Tesla (TSLA) - Tesla is preparing to launch its Cybercab in Austin, Texas, as soon as August, initially offering employee rides on public roads before adding vehicles to its robotaxi service days later, The Information reports. The company has conducted testing, private road employee rides, and first-responder training. Production is expected to ramp up later this year. Wendy’s (WEN) - Wendy’s will eliminate its US President role, and create a Chief Operations Officer position reporting to the President and CEO as part of restructuring efforts. Follows Pete Suerken notifying the company last week that he intends to resign to become President and CEO of Quality Supply Chain Co-op. Gambling Stocks - Australia tightened proposed gambling advertising restrictions, including limits affecting Bet365 and Sportsbet. Measures include bans on certain inducement marketing and activity-based commissions, longer live sport advertising blackouts, equivalent online restrictions, and an opt-out register for wagering ads. The government has resisted calls for a complete gambling advertising ban. FINANCIALS: Aon plc (AON) - CFO Edmund Reese is stepping down immediately to pursue opportunities outside the firm; Nadin Virani appointed Interim CFO. Aon has engaged an executive search firm to identify a permanent CFO. MATERIALS: BHP Group (BHP) - BHP rose after full-year profit beat expectations and the miner lifted its dividend to a four-year high, driven by record copper prices and stronger copper earnings that overtook iron ore as its biggest profit contributor. FY26 underlying attributable profit +30% Y/Y at USD 13.20bln (exp. 12.66bln), FY26 net rose +9% Y/Y to 9.83bln (exp. 10.95bln), FY26 revenue +15% Y/Y at USD 58.8bln (vs 51.1bln Y/Y). Copper has become BHP’s largest earnings driver for the first time as copper division operating earnings rose 48% to USD 18.19bln, ahead of iron ore at USD 14.53bln. Net debt fell to USD 8.69bln (exp. 9.10bln), below BHP’s USD 10-12bln target range. BHP raises its FY26 dividend to 1.72/shr (+56% Y/Y), including a final dividend of 0.99/shr. CEO Brandon Craig said copper remains BHP’s biggest growth opportunity, with production potentially rising by up to 40% by 2035. On M&A, he said that management sees organic development as materially more attractive than acquisitions. The company expects copper demand to exceed 50mln tonnes annually by 2050 (vs about 34mln tonnes currently). Kaiser Aluminium (KALU) - Kaiser Aluminium appointed Fred Stephan as President and CEO, effective 1st November 2026, succeeding Keith A. Harvey. Stephan will also join the board. Harvey will remain Executive Chairman, and serve as Stephan’s special adviser through 31st October 2027. ENERGY: Explorer Pipeline - Lightning struck Explorer Pipeline’s Glenpool tank farm near Tulsa, Oklahoma, igniting three tanks of natural gasoline, Bloomberg reports. Operations in and out of Glenpool have been shut, though Explorer’s operations outside the facility remain unaffected. The farm is a critical hub on Explorer’s 1,800-mile pipeline system capable of storing 3.4mln bbls, with the disruption expected to have at least a short-term impact on the tight US fuel market. North Sea Oil & Gas - The UK Government is reportedly expected to delay its decision on 2 projects due to concerns about the “optics” of making the announcement after successive heatwaves, the Times reports. Petrobras (PBR) - Petrobras is considering improved payment terms for Braskem on some contracts, as the petrochemical producer seeks a debt solution before a 24th August bankruptcy-protection deadline, Bloomberg reports. Petrobras had tightened naphtha supply terms, cutting its share of Braskem’s supply to about 30% from as much as 70%, and pushing Braskem towards other suppliers and bank credit. Targa Resources (TRGP), ExxonMobil (XOM) - Targa signed 20-year integrated midstream agreements with ExxonMobil subsidiaries covering Permian Delaware and Midland acreage through 2046. Targa also announced three Delaware gas processing plants with combined capacity of about 825mln cubic feet per day, and a 70-mile Bull Run II pipeline, both expected to be in service in H1 2028. Targa subsequently raised its FY26 growth capex view to approximately USD 5bln (from USD 4.5bln). INDUSTRIALS: Rocket Lab (RKLB) - Rocket Lab has been onboarded to the US Space Force’s NITE-STAR IDIQ contract, which has a USD 981mln ceiling. Managed by Space Systems Command, the programme supports space test and training infrastructure for contested scenarios. Rocket Lab is now eligible to compete for task orders. Textron (TXT) - Textron was awarded a USD 231.49mln US Navy contract modification to build two Ship to Shore Connector Landing Craft Air Cushion-class craft. HEALTHCARE: CVS Health (CVS) - CVS Health appointed Teresa Heitsenrether to its Board of Directors, effective 18th November. Heitsenrether is Chief Data & Analytics Officer at JPMorgan (JPM), and a member of its Operating Committee. Bayer (BAYRY) - Bayer said Health Canada issued a Notice of Compliance expanding LYNKUET’s indication to treat moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms caused by adjuvant endocrine therapy related to breast cancer.