European Stock Markets Fell - STOXX 600 Lost the Gains It Had Made Over the Week

Trading on European stock exchanges opened sharply lower on Friday. The wave of declines sweeping global markets reached Europe as well, further intensifying what has already been a difficult trading week for investors. Market participants are particularly concerned about uncertainty in the artificial intelligence sector, linked to Democrats gaining control of the US Congress.

As of 08:10 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index had fallen 1.6% to 644.72 points. Most of Europe's major regional markets also posted losses of more than 1%. Friday's decline completely erased the index's gains for the week, leaving the STOXX 600 down roughly 0.2% on a weekly basis.

European indices have been hit relatively less hard this week than Asian and US stock markets. One reason for this is Europe's relatively smaller share of AI-sector companies, which reduces the impact of sharp swings in AI stocks.

The biggest losses on Friday were recorded in the media, healthcare and retail sectors — each falling by more than 2%.

Investor concern is being fueled by expectations that a Democrat-controlled Congress could restrict investment in AI data centers. This is compounded by doubts over the returns being generated by AI projects, high company valuations, and large-scale investments financed through debt.

A slowdown in AI investment could also affect the global economy as a whole, whose recent growth has been driven to a large extent by capital spending from tech giants.

Among technology companies, Siltronic shares fell 2%, while ASMI dropped 1.3%. Shares of Schneider Electric and Siemens Energy, manufacturers of infrastructure and equipment needed for artificial intelligence, also declined slightly.

On the corporate earnings front, attention centered on Teleperformance, whose share price plunged 18%. The company cut its full-year revenue growth forecast, as weakness in its trust and safety outsourcing business outweighed the positive effect of growth in its AI-based and administrative services.