Europe: Stocks Close Lower.

European stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, tracking global equity markets as investors continued to pivot out of the AI trade and geopolitical tensions escalated. The Euro STOXX 50 dropped 1.1% to 6,229 and the STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.4% to 641. AI-related companies tanked across the world amid lingering concerns that AI hyperscalers are due to slow spending on infrastructure. This was magnified by the release of strong LLM models by Chinese firm Moonshot, risking a pivot away from Western technology. ASML slipped 3.9%, while Siemens tanked 2.3%. In the meantime, pro-inflationary risks from higher natural gas prices pressured the credit outlook and equity for the main banks. BBVA and Deutsche Bank slipped around 2.5% each. Meanwhile, UniCredit lost 2.5% after the German government signaled some willingness to discuss acquisition terms with the Italian lender for the tender of its Commerzbank stake.