Morning Comment Norway-05/18/2026

Research evidence excerpt

Morning Comment Norway-05/18/2026

Morning Comment Norway

18 MAY 2026

Foreign markets S&P 500 intraday

7,520

• US – Equities closed lower Friday, with the S&P 500 down 1.24%, Nasdaq

off 1.54%, and Dow down 1.07%. Weakness was broad-based, with sharp 7,500

selloffs in semis, memory, and Big Tech as Tesla and Nvidia both fell over 7,480

4%. The session was weighed down by a global yield backup, profit-taking in 7,460

the AI and momentum trade, stalled US-Iran talks, and a Trump-Xi summit

that delivered few concrete positives. 7,440

7,420

• Asia – Asian indices traded lower Monday, with the Nikkei down 0.80%, Hang

Seng off 1.18%, and Shanghai down 0.05%. Risk sentiment soured after 7,400

Trump's Truth Social post warning Iran to act fast reignited fears of Middle 7,380

16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00

East escalation. Adding to the cautious tone, China's April activity data

disappointed across the board, with industrial production growth slowing to

its weakest since mid-2023. US and Asia indices (at time of publication)

• Oil prices – Oil prices extend gains Monday following a strong week. The 0.00%

ceasefire enters its fifth week with no sign of progress between Washington -0.20% -0.05%

and Tehran, and hopes that China could help pressure Iran are fading. -0.40%

Meanwhile, the UAE announced plans to expand pipeline capacity to Fujairah -0.60%

by at least 1.5 million bpd to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. -0.80% -0.80%

-1.00%

Today’s research focus -1.20% -1.07% -1.18%

-1.40% -1.24%

• MOWI – Mowi’s Q1 EPS/DPS beat expectations, but soft cost guidance (flat

-1.60%

Q/Q) and surprisingly low biomass (~flat Y/Y) drove the negatives. Our -1.54%

FY26e EBIT is trimmed ~4% following the report. The backdrop is however -1.80% Dow S&P 500 Nasdaq Nikkei 225 Hang Seng Shanghai