Europe close: Stocks slide on AI concerns but Wall St rebound helps

6th Nov 2026 16:09

(Sharecast News) - European stocks ended sharply lower on Friday as concerns about a slowdown in the much-hyped artificial intelligence spending boom hit the tech sector hard, but markets ended off lows following a rebound on Wall Street.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index fell 1% to 648.33, Germany's DAX closed 1.9% lower at 25,820.36 and France's CAC 40 declined 0.8% to 8,139.00.

Sentiment was hit by concerns that the Democrats' stronger-than-expected US midterm election showing could curb the AI-led investment boom.

"The relief rally which followed the midterm elections was soon obliterated as the possible ramifications became clear, sparking a brutal sell off across technology shares which spread across most other sectors and indeed global markets," said Interactive Investor head of markets Richard Hunter.

"The Democrats' new found power following the election success followed a campaign largely predicated on the populist AI backlash. Most notably, data centre development came under fire which, if implemented, could put the brakes on the AI surge, not least through reduced chip demand.

"This latest jolt followed what had already been a jittery space, with concerns over whether the returns on the huge AI spend could or would be sufficiently met."

Investors were also digesting the latest US non-farm payrolls report, which showed that job creation accelerated sharply in October, comfortably beating forecasts, while unemployment edged lower and wage growth unexpectedly picked up.

Non-farm payrolls increased by 165,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said, well ahead of consensus expectations for a 65,000 rise and more than double September's upwardly revised gain of 60,000.

September's initial estimate of 29,000 was revised up by 31,000, while August's figure was raised 53,000 to 186,000, meaning 84,000 jobs were added to two previously reported payroll figures.

The unemployment rate dipped to 4.1% from 4.2%, against expectations for an unchanged reading, although the number of unemployed people remained broadly stable at 7.1m.

Meanwhile, average hourly earnings increased by 0.4% month-on-month to $38.00, accelerating from September's 0.1% rise and exceeding forecasts of 0.3%. Annual wage growth also accelerated to 3.1% from 3%, defying expectations for a slowdown to 2.9%, which would have represented the weakest rate in over five years.

In equity news, stocks in chipmakers and related industries ended in the black, reversing earlier heavy losses in line with a tech recovery in the US. BE Semiconductor, ASML and Aixtron all closed higher.

However, Teleperformance tanked as the French AI firm suffered a double whammy from the global backlash and revealing on Thursday that it would deliver lower revenues this year.

BA owner IAG flew higher as it reported a lower third-quarter profit as a sharp rise in fuel costs and operational disruption offset strong revenue growth across its transatlantic business, but increased its dividend and pressed ahead with its share buyback programme.

Coca-Cola HBC gained as the drinks bottler said it had received no notification from the Russian government of any changes to its operations in that country, which have been operated locally on a self-standing basis since 2022. The statement came after shares in the bottler of Coca-Cola products tumbled on Thursday following reports its Russian business could be seized or placed under state-controlled external management.