Europe open: Shares down sharply as AI, rate hike fears grow

(Sharecast News) - European shares fell sharply at the open on Tuesday as more uncertainty around the artificialintelligence IPO pipeline and elevated oil prices spooked investors while the prospects of a Fed rate hike increased as yields surged to their highest level in almost two decades.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.59% to 632 at 0715 GMT with all major bourses lower.

US shares fell overnight after an interview with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman published over the weekend said the company would not pursue a stockmarket listing this year, calling an IPO "illadvised" just a month after CFO Sarah Friar suggested the group would go public by 2027 at the latest.

The comments add to growing questions over how quickly major AI firms will reach public markets.

Separately, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei used an essay released on Saturday to urge the industry to slow the pace of frontiermodel development due to safety risks. He told CBS News that the biggest challenge for any slowdown would be how to respond if China continued to accelerate its own AI efforts.

However, US President Donald Trump angrily swatted aside any concerns. In his usual bellicose fashion, he said: "The only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!"

On bond markets, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed to beyond 5% - its highest level since 2007 - as investors priced in a rate hike on Wednesday at 90%.

Brent crude remained above $107 a barrel as threats to Saudi exports grew after increasing attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Red Sea facilities.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com