Investing.com – European shares traded in a holding pattern on Friday as initial euphoria over a blockbuster tech listing in the United States gave way to deeper anxieties regarding escalating military clashes between the U.S. and Iran, which have choked global shipping lines and revived inflation fears.
The pan-European closed flat, following a minor bounce in the previous session, which was powered by a rally in AI stocks.
Germany’s edged 0.1% lower, while France’s and London’s both gained around 0.2%. Italy’s climbed 0.4%.
The broader European benchmark was pacing toward a near 2% weekly loss – its sharpest weekly decline since mid-April – as investors aggressively repriced the risk of a wider Middle East conflict upending the global economic outlook.
Market sentiment darkened following reports that the U.S. military launched airstrikes against 90 Iranian targets on Wednesday to degrade capabilities threatening international waters.
Iran retaliated with strikes targeting U.S. assets across Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, effectively bringing maritime transit through the critical Strait of Hormuz to a near-standstill.
The breakdown of the fragile June 17 truce sent prices climbing back toward $77 a barrel, abruptly halting a recent downward trend in fuel prices that had given global central banks room to sound more neutral on interest rates.
The macroeconomic gloom overshadowed what was meant to be a celebratory day for global technology sectors. South Korean semiconductor giant locked in pricing for its massive U.S. Nasdaq listing, raising $26.5 billion in one of the largest corporate share sales on record.
While the heavily oversubscribed listing initially sparked a wave of bargain-hunting in semiconductor hardware and AI-exposed stocks virtually everywhere, which had been severely battered down in recent weeks – the momentum sputtered.
Despite massive demand for high-bandwidth memory chips, broader macro uncertainties and high valuations is keeping investors defensive.
shares jumped 15% after the European low-cost airline agreed to a takeover approach from Apollo.
rose 13.2% after French telecom tycoon Niel bouhgt E&’S stake.
St Jame’s Place fell about 6% after one of its advice firms said it would exit.