European stocks ended sharply lower on Friday, mirroring weakness across global equity markets as investors continued to unwind positions in AI-related names and geopolitical tensions intensified. The Euro STOXX 50 fell 1.1% to 6,229, while the STOXX Europe 600 declined 0.4% to 641.
AI-linked companies sold off worldwide amid persistent concerns that major AI hyperscalers are poised to slow their infrastructure spending. Sentiment was further hit by the launch of powerful new large language models from Chinese firm Moonshot, which raised fears of a shift in demand away from Western technology providers. ASML dropped 3.9%, and Siemens slid 2.3%.
At the same time, rising natural gas prices, seen as pro-inflationary, weighed on credit prospects and equity valuations for leading European banks. BBVA and Deutsche Bank both fell by about 2.5%. UniCredit also lost 2.5% after the German government indicated a degree of openness to discussing acquisition terms with the Italian lender regarding its potential bid for the state’s stake in Commerzbank.
