By Sudeshna Ghoshal
Sept 14 (Reuters) – European shares fell on Monday as technology stocks slumped after leaders of top AI companies pushed for a slower pace of development, while another surge in oil prices dampened broader risk appetite.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.3% at 637.5 points in choppy trading, as of 0840 GMT, with most major regional bourses trading lower.
Shares of technology firms were among the worst performers — shedding 2%, in line with weakness among Asian and U.S. peers.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Saturday called on AI companies to slow the rate at which they advance model capabilities due to fears of misuse.
“That’s a sentiment that his fellow tech leaders apparently share … this places founders in the unusual position of not only agreeing with each other but also favouring tighter regulation for their own businesses with future growth throttled,” said Benjamin Picton, senior market strategist at Rabobank.
France-based semiconductor firm Soitec was the top decliner on the STOXX, sliding 12.6%. Germany’s Infineon shed 7.6%, while Dutch firms ASML and ASMI lost 5.2% and 8.7%, respectively.
European miners fell 2.1%, with miners of both base and precious metals declining as they tracked weakness in commodity prices. London-listed Antofagasta dropped 4% and Germany’s Aurubis fell 3.2%.
On the bright side, healthcare stocks bucked the broader trend to rise 2.2%. GSK gained 3.6% after reporting positive trial results for two lung cancer drugs, adding to the sector’s momentum.
Energy stocks were little changed, though crude prices jumped, following new Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and Iranian attacks on ships in the Gulf that compounded supply concerns arising from the closure of a key Saudi pipeline.
The recent oil spike has brought inflation worries up front, reinforcing expectations that central banks worldwide could increase interest rates this year. European economies are particularly vulnerable to surging oil prices as they rely heavily on imports.
This week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to hike its main lending rate by at least 25 basis points — in contrast to a split chance between a hike and a pause seen just a week ago.
The European Central Bank already raised rates last week. Traders see at least another 25 bps hike by the year-end, according to data compiled by LSEG.
This has sent government bond yields surging, with the 10-year bund — considered the region’s benchmark — at its highest since August 2009.
Elsewhere, Sweden’s centre-left opposition looked set to form the next government as preliminary election results showed it holding a narrow three-seat lead over the right-wing ruling parties with most of the votes counted after Sunday’s vote.
(Reporting by Sudeshna Ghoshal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Joyjeet Das)
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