Trump Says US Talks With Iran Ongoing After Drone Shootdown | Daybreak Europe 2/4/2026

Watch on YouTube ↗ | February 04, 2026 at 08:11 | 44:03 | Bloomberg Markets

Speakers

Matt Bloxham — Head of Research, The Block

Ven Ram — Markets Live Reporter/Strategist, Bloomberg

Aneeka Gupta — Reporter, Financial Times

Mike Doustdar — CEO, Novo Nordisk

Torgrim Reitan — CFO, Equinor

Sven Schneider — CFO, Infineon

Joumanna Bercetche — Anchor, Bloomberg

WINNIE SUE — Asia Markets Reporter

Summary

Bloomberg Daybreak Europe focuses on a fresh AI-disruption scare after Anthropic's new legal-focused tool wiped about $285 billion from software, financial services and asset-management shares, alongside bitcoin's slide to its lowest level since the 2024 US election. The show covers a heavy European earnings slate (UBS, Santander, Credit Agricole, Novo Nordisk, Equinor, Infineon) and geopolitics after the US shot down an Iranian drone while Trump said talks with Iran continue. Guests debate the rotation from US tech into ex-US value markets, European small caps and banks, Novo's volume-led defense, and the durability of AI power demand.

Anthropic's new legal-industry AI tool sparked roughly a $285 billion selloff in software, financial services and asset-management stocks, with investors in 'sell now, ask questions later' mode.
Bitcoin fell to about $73,000, its lowest since the 2024 US election and roughly 40% below December highs; a strategist called it speculative with no intrinsic support.
UBS beat on Q4 profit and announced a $3 billion 2026 buyback; Santander announced a EUR 5 billion buyback alongside its $12 billion Webster Financial deal; Credit Agricole's French retail profit fell 18% year on year.
Novo Nordisk guided to a 5-13% sales decline for 2026, sending its shares down about 15%; its CEO cited pricing pressure but pointed to strong early uptake of a new oral GLP-1 pill.
Equinor posted weaker profit but a $1.5 billion buyback and 5% dividend growth; Infineon reiterated guidance and expects AI power revenue to double to EUR 1.5 billion and reach EUR 2.5 billion by 2027.
Trump said US-Iran talks continue after a US warplane downed an Iranian drone; Brent held near $68 with a geopolitical premium and Strait of Hormuz freight costs jumped.
WisdomTree's Aneeka Gupta expects the rally to keep broadening beyond US mega-cap tech, favoring Japan, Europe, China, European small caps and European banks/value.

Ideas

Matt Bloxham Head of Research, The Block 5:56

AI disruption undermines software-as-a-service investment thesis.

Anthropic's expanding AI automation tools (coding, productivity, and now a legal-services tool) are accelerating disruption of software and professional-information business models. Bloxham says the roughly $285 billion selloff shows the long-term software-as-a-service investment thesis is now in question, with investors in 'sell now, ask questions later' mode, preferring to retreat and take risk off until the disruption picture is clearer.

Matt Bloxham Head of Research, The Block 8:33

Watch Alphabet capex for AI commitment.

Bloxham says the key focus in Alphabet's earnings is the 2026 capex number and whether Google follows Meta in doubling down on AI infrastructure spending to accelerate Gemini. That capital-spending decision will shape market sentiment on the AI buildout, making Alphabet's print a key event to monitor.

Ven Ram Markets Live Reporter/Strategist, Bloomberg 12:03

Bitcoin is speculative with no intrinsic value.

Bitcoin was pitched as digital gold, a store of wealth and a hedge against debasement, but its roughly 40% drawdown shows it is a speculative asset with no intrinsic value. Ven Ram argues that because nothing anchors its value, no one can point to an intrinsic support level when it falls, which is a major problem for bitcoin and crypto coins.

Aneeka Gupta Reporter, Financial Times 16:08

Rotate from US into ex-US value markets.

Gupta says the rotation out of the US is underway: MSCI ex-US outperformed at the strongest level since 1993 in 2025 as US high valuations came into question, and she favors value-oriented markets outside the US, naming Japan, Europe and low-valuation growth opportunities in China, as the rally broadens beyond the Magnificent Seven.

Aneeka Gupta Reporter, Financial Times 18:55

European small caps benefit from domestic reflation.

Within Europe, Gupta says the market is shifting from an export-led story to a domestic reflation story as the consumer recovers after years of saving. That favors European small caps, which are rallying on domestic resilience, while European stocks with high US and China export exposure lose momentum.

Aneeka Gupta Reporter, Financial Times 19:29

Favor European value factor and banks.

Gupta says the value factor is taking a dominant role in Europe, with banks carrying much more optimistic forecasts and benefiting from consumer spending, alongside the ECB's rate cuts and easier liquidity conditions. She calls value-oriented sectors an important position in the European playbook.

Mike Doustdar CEO, Novo Nordisk 20:35

Novo volume growth offsets pricing headwinds.

Doustdar says Novo's steep 2026 sales guidance (down 5-13%) reflects a well-telegraphed pricing headwind from US price cuts, but he argues lower prices will drive much higher global volume uptake. The new oral GLP-1 pill already has more than 170,000 patients after four weeks with 17% weight loss, leaving him incredibly optimistic on the future with the obesity market expanding.

Torgrim Reitan CFO, Equinor 26:55

Equinor resilient with growing bankable distributions.

Reitan frames Equinor as a resilient, disciplined operator: record production growing again in 2026, industry-leading 14.5% return on capital employed, a 15% ($4 billion) investment cut and lower costs, a 5% dividend increase he calls bankable, and a $1.5 billion buyback that is now a normal, recurring part of capital distribution as the company normalizes after the gas supercycle.

Sven Schneider CFO, Infineon 36:05

Infineon's AI power revenue doubling by 2027.

Schneider says Infineon's AI power business, powering AI 'from grid to core' rather than making AI chips, is the biggest growth driver in company history: revenue doubling to EUR 1.5 billion this fiscal year and rising to EUR 2.5 billion in 2027, prompting the company to pull forward investment in its Dresden fab. He sees no AI bubble for the next two years given profitable hyperscaler and processor-maker customers, AI as a core technology platform, and rising state support.

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This Bloomberg Markets video, published February 04, 2026, features Matt Bloxham, Ven Ram, Aneeka Gupta, Mike Doustdar, Torgrim Reitan, Sven Schneider discussing IGV, GOOG, BTC, ACWX, EWJ, VGK, FXI, European small-cap equities, European value factor, EUFN, NVO, EQNR, IFX.DE. 9 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Matt Bloxham, Ven Ram, Aneeka Gupta, Mike Doustdar, Torgrim Reitan, Sven Schneider · Tickers: IGV, GOOG, BTC, ACWX, EWJ, VGK, FXI, European small-cap equities, European value factor, EUFN, NVO, EQNR, IFX.DE