European stocks softened at the open, with artificial intelligence-related stocks in the region following declines in U.S. tech shares. Germany and Spain's markets recorded larger losses, while several companies saw their share prices rise after announcing quarterly earnings.
The pan-European STOXX 600 Index fell 1.56 points, or 0.3%, to 569.02 points. The UK FTSE 100 Index dropped 3 points to 9,711 points; the French CAC 40 Index declined 21 points, or 0.3%, to 8,046 points; the German DAX Index fell 139 points, or 0.6%, to 23,809 points; the Spanish IBEX 35 Index decreased by 81 points, or 0.5%, to 15,955 points; and the Italian FTSE MIB Index dropped 59 points, or 0.1%, to 43,203 points.
In individual stocks, ASML, a lithography machine manufacturer, fell 2%. Nokia, a telecommunications equipment provider that reached a business partnership with NVIDIA, dropped 1.5%, while its peer Ericsson declined 1.6%. Danish wind power company Orsted reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, sending its shares up 1.2%. Peer Vestas saw its EBIT margin before special items increase by 3.3 percentage points year-on-year to 7.8% for the quarter, driving its stock price up 12.2%. Novo-Nordisk A/S reported quarterly net profit in line with market expectations, with its shares rising 2.5%. BMW Group’s quarterly pre-tax profit also met market expectations, lifting its shares by 0.6%.
In U.S. stock futures, Dow Jones futures rose 70 points to 47,284 points; S&P 500 futures fell 4 points to 6,797 points; Nasdaq futures declined 47 points to 25,527 points.
In Asia-Pacific markets, China's Shanghai and Shenzhen indices rose 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 16 points, or less than 0.1%, closing at 25,935 points with a turnover of 238.8 billion yuan. Taiwan's stock market fell 1.4%, Japan and South Korea's markets dropped 2.5% and 2.9%, respectively. Australia's market edged down 0.1%, while New Zealand's market gained 0.1%. Singapore's Straits Times Index fell 12 points, or 0.3%, to 4,410 points. Thailand and Malaysia's markets declined 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, while the Philippines' market dropped 0.8%. Indonesia's market rose 0.5%, Vietnam’s Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh markets climbed 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, while India's market was closed for a holiday.