EUROPEAN OPEN: AZN LN invests USD 2bln in SMMT; NOVOB DC signs USD 2.6bln licence deal; VOW3 GY & Gotion plan EUR 3.22bln battery investment; AIR FP flags slower September deliveries; HLA GY raises FY26 EBITDA view; LISN SW cuts FY26 sales view

EUROPEAN OPEN: European equities started Tuesday trade higher; APAC stocks were subdued overnight following a weak handover from Wall Street, where the major indices were pressured as oil prices and yields continued to climb, amid a slew of conflicting geopolitical headlines. In geopolitics, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said Tehran expects a US response to its Strait of Hormuz reopening proposal via Qatari mediators today, with Supreme Leader conditions unchanged; President Trump said the US will win the Iran war soon, denying an Axios report he offered sanctions relief. A US source called deal chances extremely slim. Crude futures rose for a second day as stalled US-Iran talks and strong demand outweighed restored Saudi pipeline flows. December Brent trades above USD 99/bbl. Gold rose towards USD 4,140/oz after touching a seven-week low on Monday; analysts said that bullion remains pressured by expectations of further Fed tightening, with markets pricing around a 70% probability of an October rate hike. Copper edged higher as supply concerns increased after workers at Antofagasta’s Centinela mine in Chile rejected a wage offer and voted to strike. In central banks, the RBA raised its cash rate by 25bps to a 15-year high of 4.60%, as expected, for its fourth hike this year. The board voted unanimously (a hold and a 25bps hike were the only options considered), stating that inflation remains too high, and upside risks to inflation are materialising amid high energy costs and weak productivity. The Board will continue to take whatever action it considers necessary to return inflation sustainably to target, including raising the cash rate target further if required. At her post-meeting presser, Governor Bullock struck a dovish tone, however, stating that she would not place too much weight on the August CPI reading. She said further rate hikes may not be needed if inflation falls, hopes its previous four hikes will prove restrictive enough to slow inflation, and remains confident the RBA will bring inflation down. In FX, Japan FinMin Katayama said JPY weakness remains a concern, and Tokyo and Washington will stay in close contact to maintain orderly FX markets. She said the JPY is undervalued, while rising Japanese bond yields appear moderate vs global moves. The UK Labour Party Conference continues; PM Burnham will reportedly signal an end to the state pension triple lock in his conference speech; one of the UK’s largest unions warned that scrapping the policy to help fund free social care for the elderly would be “electoral suicide”, amid reported cabinet divisions. Burnham is also expected to move Labour closer to rejoining the EU as he addresses the party conference, according to The Independent; ministers said the question is how strongly he emphasises the UK’s return to Europe rather than whether he does so. Elsewhere, the UK is lobbying the US against a potential US diesel export ban as domestic prices hit record highs; Chancellor Healey said the UK, which gets around a third of diesel imports from the US, is preparing contingencies and has domestic stocks. Elsewhere, In data, UK BRC shop price inflation eased to 1.4% Y/Y in September (exp. 1.5%, prev. 1.5%). Food inflation slowed to 2.5% Y/Y (from 2.8%) as promotions and competition offset higher energy and harvest-related costs. Spanish prelim September inflation figures showed HICP rising to 5.0% Y/Y from 4.6%; headline CPI rose to 4.9% Y/Y (exp. 4.7%, prev. 4.3%). STOCK SPECIFICS: HEALTHCARE: AstraZeneca (AZN LN) will invest USD 2bln in Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) via convertible preferred shares, priced at USD 18.36/shr; the companies will also expand cancer drug collaboration, including studies combining AstraZeneca’s sonesitatug vedotin and other medicines with Summit’s ivonescimab. Separately, Hutchmed (HCM) said AstraZeneca submitted a US NDA for ORPATHYS plus TAGRISSO in locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with MET overexpression or amplification after EGFR inhibitor progression. The filing is supported by the SAFFRON Phase III trial, which showed significant improvements in progression-free and overall survival versus platinum-based chemotherapy, with no new safety concerns. Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) and Hengrui Pharma entered an exclusive licence agreement for HRS-1596, a Phase 1-ready once-weekly oral GLP-1/GIP dual receptor agonist; the deal is worth up to USD 2.6bln, including USD 300mln upfront, plus potential sales royalties. INDUSTRIALS: Airbus (AIR FP) expects September deliveries to be slower than anticipated after a quality issue affecting A321neo jets; around 20 aircraft have been pushed into Q4 partly because of the problem, though safety is unaffected and some airlines continue accepting deliveries. Airbus added that its FY targets remain unchanged. FAA certification of Boeing’s (BA) 737 Max 10 has been delayed while regulators assess whether a newly identified software glitch poses a flight safety risk; the FAA said pilots remain in control, but it is reviewing workload implications before approving the aircraft. Hapag-Lloyd (HLA GY) raised its FY26 outlook, now expects EBITDA of USD 3.9-4.4bln, and EBIT between USD 1.25-1.75bln; it cautioned that volatile freight rates and geopolitical tensions create significant uncertainty, and could still impact its outlook. CONSUMER DEFENSIVE: Lindt & Sprungli (LISN SW) cut its FY26 organic sales growth view to 0-2% (from 4-6%), citing weak demand, price sensitivity and subdued consumer sentiment in key European markets. High cocoa-driven price increases and a summer heat wave also weighed on sales, particularly seasonal businesses. CONSUMER CYCLICAL: Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) and Gotion High-Tech plan to invest EUR 3.22bln in battery facilities in Spain, Slovakia and Morocco. The JVs would include battery plants with 29.1GWh and 8.4GWh annual capacity, and a Moroccan facility producing about 100K tonnes of LFP cathode materials annually. FINANCIALS: Swiss regulator Finma ended its enforcement procedure against Julius Baer (BAER SW) over a major credit event in its former private debt business and legacy AML matters. Goldman Sachs (GS) board has discussed replacing CEO David Solomon with President and COO John Waldron around end-2027 or 2028; Solomon could become executive chairman for 1-2 years. Goldman said that succession discussions were routine, and no definitive timeline exists. Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) shares fell 0.8% in extended US trading after a sharp decline in asset management revenue and weaker fixed income trading outweighed record equity trading and investment banking revenue, as well as an earnings beat. TECH: Rexel (RXL FP) launched its EUR 500mln capital increase, without shareholders’ preferential subscription rights, to partially fund the acquisition of GCG. AMD (AMD) agreed to acquire World Labs in an all-stock deal valued at USD 8.2bln. World Labs founder Fei-Fei Li will join AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist. In its IPO prospectus, Anthropic said 2025 revenue rose roughly 12-fold to USD 4.6bln, while operating losses widened to USD 8.06bln, and net losses reached nearly USD 42bln. Compute spending tripled to USD 7.33bln, future infrastructure obligations totalled about USD 518bln, and two customers generated nearly 25% of revenue. Its upcoming IPO, expected after the US midterms, could value Anthropic above USD 2tln. NOTABLE BROKER UPDATES: Fresenius Medical Care (FME GY) initiated with a Hold rating at Berenberg. Rentokil (RTO LN) downgraded at Morgan Stanley; Eurofins Scientific (ERF FP) downgraded at Bernstein. DAY AHEAD: EVENTS: President Trump will hold an AI meeting with tech execs at 12:30EDT/17:30BST. DATA: In Europe, Eurozone economic sentiment (prev. 98.4) and consumer confidence data (exp. -16.5, prev. -15.5); UK mortgage approvals (prev. 56.05K) and consumer credit (prev. GBP 2.006bln). In North America, US JOLTS job openings (exp. 7.24mln, prev. 7.271mln), the quits rate previously fell to 1.9% from 2.0%, while the vacancy rate was unchanged at 4.4%; CB consumer confidence (prev. 89.4); S&P/Case-Shiller home prices (prev. 2.1% Y/Y; prev. 0.4% M/M), and FHFA house price index (prev. 0% M/M; prev. 2.3% Y/Y). In Canada, July GDP stats are expected to be unchanged M/M (prev. 0.3%). CENTRAL BANKS: There is a heavy speakers slate, centred on the ECB’s Frankfurt “Independence, not isolation” symposium, featuring remarks from President Lagarde, Vice President Vujcic, and ECB’s Cipollone, who will also deliver separate remarks on digital capital markets; ECB chief economist Lane also speaks separately. From the BoE, Taylor will speak on inflation persistence, and Mann on the global balance sheet. From the Fed, Governor Waller (voter) will give remarks on payments; Fed’s Williams (voter) will participate in a round table discussion, Fed’s Bowman (voter) will deliver opening remarks, Fed’s Barr (voter) will comment on monpol/outlook, and Fed’s Goolsbee (2027 voter) will participate in a Q&A, Fed’s Musalem (2028 voter) will give comments on the outlook. Elsewhere, BoC’s Gravelle participates in a fireside chat. OPTION EXPIRIES: Gold, Silver and Copper September 2026 futures. SUPPLY: Italy auctions EUR 5.5-6.5bln of 2032 and 2036 debt, as well as EUR 1.25-1.5bln of 2036 CCTeus. UK sells GBP 4.25bln of 2036 Gilts. ENERGY: After the US close, weekly energy inventory data is due from the API.