Stocks on the Rise

Casino (+16%): The retailer announced the sale to 2S Retail of 3C Cameroun, which operates 7 outlets under the BAO Cash & Carry banner, including 5 company-owned stores in Douala and 2 franchised stores in Nkongsamba and Limbé.

Munters (+9%): The Swedish climate control specialist's Data Center Technologies division received orders worth 2.1 billion Swedish kronor (around 190 million euros) in the United States. Munters' exposure to data centers is attracting market interest.

BE Semiconductor (+8%): The semiconductor equipment sector is kicking off the year at full throttle, particularly for stocks that had a lackluster 2025. ASM International (+5%) is also benefiting. ASML, which soared 36% last year, is limiting its gains to 2.2%. Among strategists' top picks for the year, the demand for semiconductor production to feed the AI behemoth remains prominent.

Salzgitter (+6%): Steelmakers are enjoying a tailwind, buoyed by a sector-wide upgrade from BNP Paribas. The bank maintains an "outperform" rating on the German group, raising its target from 41.50 to 52 EUR. It remains positive on Aperam (target raised from 29.50 EUR to 33 EUR) and ArcelorMittal (target raised from 39 EUR to 44 EUR).

Orsted (+5%): The Danish giant has announced it will formally challenge Washington's suspension of the Revolution Wind lease, its offshore wind joint venture. The aim is to obtain a court injunction to restart this massive $5 billion project, which was frozen by a unilateral decision from the Trump administration.

Valneva (+4.4%): The market welcomed the termination of the licensing agreement in India with the Serum Institute of India for the single-dose chikungunya vaccine. The laboratory believes this will allow it to improve the distribution of its vaccine by regaining control of its production and marketing chain.

Voltalia (+3%): The renewable energy developer has announced the start of construction on the strategic Artemisya complex, combining storage (100 megawatts / 200 megawatt-hours) and wind (100 megawatts) in Uzbekistan. This is the first such complex in Central Asia, combining solar, wind, and storage.

Stocks on the Decline

Pexip (-3%): Scandinavian broker Pareto has removed the software developer's stock from its list of preferred Norwegian equities.

British American Tobacco (-1.5%): India has announced a tax hike on cigarettes, effective February 1, 2026. "While Imperial Brands and BAT do not have significant direct operations in India's cigarette sector, BAT remains exposed to the Indian tobacco sector through its stake in the listed Indian company ITC (about 23% of the capital)," notes analyst Hélène Coumes of AlphaValue.

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