European Stocks Show Mixed Reactions After Wall Street Sell-Off
European stocks exhibited a mixed performance on Friday, as worries about AI led to another drop on Wall Street overnight.
By 11:30 a.m. ET in London, the pan-European Stocks 600 index was down 0.4%, with most sectors and major exchanges facing losses.
In positive news, French aerospace company Safran saw its shares rise by 7.3% as it projected a sales increase of 15%, reaching 31.3 billion euros. Additionally, it expects net profits in 2025 to rise 3.5% from the previous year, amounting to 3.17 billion euros (approximately $3.8 billion).
In contrast, NatWest Group’s profit fell further, with the British bank reporting a profit of 1.48 billion pounds in the fourth quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations of 1.24 billion pounds. This was noted as a mixed bag, as the overall context was not entirely positive.
Meanwhile, French cosmetics giant L’Oréal faced challenges, and German online food delivery company Delivery Hero dropped 5.6% following their financial disclosures.
The European real estate sector also took a hit, with concerns stemming from the AI impacts on U.S. real estate, trucking, and software stocks during pre-market trading. UK’s largest commercial property developer saw a 1.5% decline, while competitors like British Land dropped 1.1%. German real estate operator Segro decreased by 0.7%, and Vonovia fell 1.2%.
Dan Ives, who heads technology research at Wedbush Securities, acknowledged that some sectors, especially software, are grappling with AI-related challenges. However, he commented that concerns about a “software armageddon” are likely exaggerated.
Moreover, investors globally are awaiting U.S. inflation figures, scheduled for release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at 8:30 a.m. ET.
In the metals market, prices dropped after a Financial Times report suggested President Donald Trump was considering a reduction in tariffs on steel and aluminum. As a result, London aluminum futures decreased by 1.2%, and U.S. aluminum futures fell by 0.6%, with steel futures dipping 0.1% last month.
Finally, international officials are convening in Munich, Germany, for the Munich Security Conference, which will continue through Sunday.
