European shares fell on Friday, November 6, as a global sell-off in technology and AI-linked stocks spread to Europe. The STOXX 600 gave up its weekly gains, and major national indexes ended lower. Europe was relatively less exposed to AI stocks than Wall Street and Asian markets, but the selling reached far beyond technology companies.
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STOXX 600 losses erased the week’s gains
The scale of the STOXX 600’s decline varied across reports because they captured different points in a volatile session. One morning report put the index down 1.6% at 0810 GMT, while another reported a 1% fall by 0919 GMT. Both said Friday’s losses had wiped out the index’s gains for the week.
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Selling was broad. Media, healthcare and retail shares each fell by more than 2% in one early report, while a later update said insurance stocks led a broad-based decline. Technology stocks also struggled, though the sector’s losses were less pronounced in that later snapshot.
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At the close, European indexes remained lower despite a rebound in US shares: the DAX fell 1.92%, the CAC 40 dropped 0.81%, and the FTSE 100 lost 1.01%.
37 The UK benchmark had fallen as much as 2.35% during the morning before recovering part of its decline.
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Company moves reflected both AI concerns and individual news
Early reports said chip-related shares Siltronic and ASMI were lower, while Schneider Electric and Siemens Energy edged down.
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55 Moves changed during the session: a closing report put Siltronic down 0.56% and ASMI down 2.73%, but reported Siemens Energy up 2.81%.
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Teleperformance was a notable company-specific decliner. Reuters reported that the company fell after cutting its full-year revenue-growth outlook; an intraday report put its decline at 15.3%, while another Reuters headline described an 18% drop.
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17 Those figures reflect different reports during the session, rather than one agreed closing percentage.
Why Europe was relatively more resilient
Reuters attributed Europe’s comparatively smaller impact over the week, relative to Wall Street and Asian markets, to the STOXX 600’s lower exposure to AI stocks.
6 That helps explain the difference in overall market sensitivity, but it did not shield European shares from global risk aversion or concerns about spending on AI infrastructure.
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The immediate worry was that Democrats’ control of Congress could lead to tighter scrutiny or limits on AI data-centre investment. Investors were also weighing doubts about returns on AI spending, high valuations and debt-funded expansion.
2 These were concerns about possible policy and business changes—not evidence that restrictions had already been enacted.
Wall Street’s sell-off set the tone
The preceding US session was sharper. On Thursday, November 5, the Nasdaq fell 5.5% and entered correction territory, while the S&P 500 dropped 4.4%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 12.2%, its biggest one-day fall since 2020, according to one report.
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Reuters reported that worries about the AI boom had wiped nearly $3 trillion from the market value of S&P 500 companies, while investors moved toward the safety of bonds.
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49 Those losses help explain why the European decline was broad even though the region had less direct exposure to AI stocks.
Friday’s European session therefore showed relative resilience, not immunity: the STOXX 600 lost its weekly advance, major regional indexes finished lower, and company-specific earnings news added to the pressure on some shares.