Europe open: Stoxx down on tech sell-off; Zalando hit by probe

(Sharecast News) - European shares opened lower on Friday as the tech sell-off continued amid investor fears of a potential bubble in artificial intelligence stocks.

The pan regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.44% to 637 at 0825 BST.

Wall Street shares fell overnight after US inflation accelerated in May, with the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge posting its fastest core increase since 2023, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The core personal consumption expenditures price index, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3% on the month and 3.4% year-on-year, both matching expectations.

The annual rate was the highest since October 2023. Headline PCE inflation increased 0.4% on the month and 4.1% on the year, the strongest annual reading since April 2023. The monthly figure came in slightly below forecasts.

"The technology pendulum continues to swing away from those companies investing billions of dollars into AI infrastructure to those providing the goods," said Interactive Investor head of markets Richard Hunter.

"In addition, if capital expenditure was becoming a concern, there were two prime examples of the emerging effects. Apple shares fell by 6% after announcing that it would be hiking prices on its iPads and MacBooks due to rising demand for memory and storage."

"Microsoft shares fell by more than 3% for similar reasons, with surging component costs enforcing price rises on its Xbox gaming consoles. Other members at the previous technology vanguard, such as Alphabet and Meta Platforms also dipped as a read across on the semiconductor spend."

Tech stocks felt the impact with ASM International, Infineon and BE Semiconductor down.

Zalando slumped after Germany's financial regulator launched a probe into the retailer's accounts.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com