• Analysis
European stocks plunge wipes out STOXX 600's weekly gains after US midterms
A European stocks plunge on Friday left the pan-European STOXX 600 down 1 percent at 648.83 points by 09:19 GMT, erasing its gains for the week, as shares fell after the US midterm election results.
Friday's slide erases the week
Losses spread across major regional markets on Friday as European shares fell, following the US midterm election results that put the Democrats in control of Congress.
- •The pan-European STOXX 600 dropped 1 percent to 648.83 points by 09:19 GMT.
- •Friday's losses wiped out the index's gains for the week, leaving it down about 0.3 percent.
Tech stocks fail to bounce back
Technology shares were among the casualties. After dropping earlier in the session, tech stocks struggled to recover on Friday.
Data-centre politics hover over the sector
Fears that a Democrat-led Congress could seek curbs on AI data-centre spending were cited as part of the drop, alongside concerns over weak returns, lofty valuations and debt-fueled investment in the sector.
AI data centres, according to the report, are widely unpopular among US voters.
Analyst: volatility until at least January
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said the AI build-out accounts for a large chunk of US growth, spanning construction, manufacturing and components, and has lifted Americans' sense of their own wealth through high valuations.
If you start to see stock portfolios hit, that is going to act as a real drag on consumer sentiment
Streeter expects market volatility to persist until at least January, when there could be more clarity on the Democrats' approach to AI policy.
