[MARKET ANALYSIS] European bourses lower despite renewed optimism in Europe

European bourses have started the final trading session of the week on the backfoot, despite the constructive risk tone in Asia-Pac equities and the downside seen in energy benchmarks. Optimism in Europe has risen and according to a Bloomberg poll, the STOXX 600 will finish 2026 at 670, implying gains of 5% from Wednesday's close. HSBC analysts highlight the improving macroeconomic data as a driver for the upbeat tone in Europe, while welcoming any downside in energy prices. Sectors point to a negative bias. Telecoms is the sector laggard, followed by Insurance and Retail. On the other hand, Tech is the sector outperformer, with Health Care and Industrials rounding out the sector gainers. Key movers include: Renk (+1.7%), upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Airtel Africa (-8%), its Airtel Money reportedly plans to raise less for its IPO than originally expected; Nestle (-1.9%), Russia's Kremlin seizes control of its Russian business; Orange(-4.4%), downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley US equity futures continues its post-FOMC reversal, with the ES extending further above the 7,700 mark. The upside is seemingly driven by chip stocks, following on from comments by Nvidia's CEO projecting a doubling of chip sales in 2027. Such comments lifted South Korea's tech giants overnight (SK Hynix +6.4%, Samsung Electronics +3.4%)