FX.co ★ European Markets Slide, Headed for Weekly Loss

European stocks experienced a decline on Friday, with both the Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 indices dropping by over 1%. This downturn followed two consecutive sessions of gains, as renewed concerns emerged regarding the AI and tech sectors. Over the week, the Stoxx 50 decreased by 2.3%, and the Stoxx 600 fell by 1.9%, marking their most challenging week since April, reflecting similar downward trends in Asian and US markets. Notably, ASML Holding declined by more than 4%, Infineon Technologies fell by 3%, and Prosus decreased by 1.9%. Investors were also attentive to reports suggesting a US-Russia peace proposal for Ukraine, which purportedly would require Kyiv to concede territory, leading to a drop in defense stocks such as Rheinmetall (-5.4%), Leonardo (-3.3%), Thales (-2.3%), and BAE Systems (-1.7%). Concurrently, preliminary PMI data revealed Germany's manufacturing sector remained weak, and service sector growth also experienced a slowdown. In France, the manufacturing PMI results were disappointing, while the services sector indicated growth.