European stock indices ended trading on Friday with declines, following the drop in prices of oil and technology companies' shares:
The Stoxx Europe 600 index of the largest companies in the region fell by 0.68% to 635.88 points by the market close. The British FTSE 100 lost 0.21%, the German DAX - 1.29%, the French CAC 40 - 0.55%, the Italian FTSE MIB - 1%, and the Spanish IBEX 35 - 0.45%:
Oil prices sharply declined on Friday amid news that fuel supplies through the Strait of Hormuz may increase. On this background, shares of BP (-2.4%), Eni (-1.3%), TotalEnergies (-1.3%), and Shell (-0.9%) decreased:
At the same time, prices of shares in the semiconductor sector also fell. Investor concerns are growing that the stock prices of artificial intelligence (AI) companies are excessively inflated, while the sharp rise in chip prices intensifies fears of rising inflationary pressures in the economy:
Shares of STMicroelectronics fell by 4.6%, Infineon Technologies by 4.5%, ASM International by 4.3%, BE Semiconductor by 2.2%, and ASML Holding by 1%:
Shares of telecommunications equipment manufacturers Ericsson and Nokia decreased by 1.7% and 6.5%, respectively:
Shares of online retailer Zalando dropped by 6.3% after news that the German financial regulator (BaFin) is investigating the company's financial statements for 2025 for possible violations of accounting principles:
Volkswagen's capitalization (market value) fell by 3.9%. The automaker plans to cut up to 100,000 jobs worldwide and halt production at four of its factories in Germany:
The market value of the French company Safran, which produces components for the aerospace and defense sectors, decreased by 3.2%. This occurred against the backdrop of news that the company is negotiating to acquire Exail Technologies, a manufacturer of drones for the destruction of naval mines, for 2.2 billion euros:
Against this news, Exail's shares surged by 25%:
Unilever's shares rose by 0.3%. The Financial Times reported that the company is considering acquiring American dietary supplement manufacturer Thorne, valued at 4 billion dollars:
In Friday's trading, the largest increase was recorded in the shares of the British fintech company Wise (+9.6%). The company's report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, was better than expected:
