European stocks fall on AI concerns and Middle East tensions
European stocks took a dip today, with investors feeling uneasy about big bets on artificial intelligence and fresh tensions in the Middle East.
The STOXX 600 index dropped 0.4%, and tech companies like STMicro and ASML saw losses more than 1.1%.
Even Asian tech shares struggled after some disappointing results from major US tech giants, sparking talk that global tech might be a bit overhyped.
Corporate gains as oil tops $100
Not everything was downbeat: U.K.'s Drax jumped 9% after landing a big data center deal, showing strong demand for digital infrastructure.
Bayer rose 4.4% thanks to a brighter profit outlook, while Lufthansa gained 3.3% as analysts pointed to broadly resilient results, even as the carrier trimmed its annual profit forecast,
and Philips gained 4.3% after reaching a preliminary agreement with the US Department of Justice to end investigations linked to its 2021 device recall.
Meanwhile, oil prices climbed above $100 per barrel as worries grew about U.S.-Iran tensions.
All in all, it's a mixed bag for investors trying to make sense of global uncertainty right now.