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BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPEAN FUTURES VOLATILE, EYES ON PUIG, SAP DOWNGRADED
European shares were set to open slightly higher on Tuesday, but early gains looked fragile as a relief rally sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to delay a threat to bomb Iran’s power grid quickly lost momentum. Oil prices rebounded after wild swings earlier in the session.
Equity index futures were volatile ahead of the cash open as investors weighed conflicting signals. Iran denied holding talks with the United States to end the conflict in the Gulf, with an Iranian official accusing Trump of using “fake news” to manipulate markets.
Euro STOXX 50 futures were last up 0.4%, after falling as much as 1% earlier during Asian trading. DAX, FTSE and S&P 500 futures were up modestly, rising about 0.2%–0.3%.
In corporate news, here are some early highlights.
Puig <PUIGb.MC>: Estee Lauder is in talks regarding a potential business combination with the Spanish beauty group, in a deal that would bring some of the world's biggest beauty and fragrance brands under one roof. Puig shares called up 10%.
SAP SAPG.DE: JP Morgan cut the German software maker to neutral, sending its shares down over 2% premarket. "SAP's current cloud backlog is likely to decelerate further as the migration base matures, making a re-acceleration difficult to underwrite. In a market that now demands acceleration to counter prevailing software bear arguments, deceleration is unlikely to support near-term stock performance," JPM said.
Kingfisher KGF.L: The home improvement retailer reported a 6% rise in annual profit, with a resilient performance in the UK offsetting softer markets in France and Poland.
Bellway BWY.L: The British homebuilder trimmed its operating margin outlook for fiscal 2026, as the sector grapples with the risk of further interest rate hikes dampening housing demand.
(Danilo Masoni)
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