Europe's STOXX 600 closed 0.1% lower on Tuesday, giving up earlier gains as rising bond yields offset a rally in technology stocks. Banks, energy and food-and-beverage names led the declines, while chipmakers surged on renewed AI optimism tied to Anthropic's IPO plans.
The pan-European STOXX 600 ended the session 0.1% lower, reversing gains posted earlier in the day. Most regional indexes lost ground alongside it, even as oil prices reversed course to fall close to 2%.
Bond yields keep pressure on risk appetite
Global bond yields stayed near multi-decade highs, with robust growth and elevated energy costs expected to push interest rates higher still. Laura Cooper, global investment strategist and head of macro credit at Nuveen, said near-term inflation risks remain tilted higher because energy prices stay elevated, leaving longer-dated bonds with little protection against another bout of turbulence.
She added that stocks can tolerate rising yields tied to strong growth because robust earnings offset the higher discount rate. Despite raising interest rates twice this year, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Monday that a measured policy response remains appropriate, since the inflation surge has yet to generate significant second-round effects.
Chipmakers rally on Anthropic's AI bet
Technology shares led sectoral gains, rising 2.5% to their highest level in a month. Semiconductor names AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik and Soitec each gained more than 9%.
Anthropic's IPO prospectus argues AI will transform the global economy more profoundly than industrialization, electricity and the internet, with the offering seen valuing the AI lab at more than $2 trillion. Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said that vision has lifted demand for European tech stocks. Earlier this month, executives from several major AI companies had urged a slower pace of development, a call that weighed on tech shares already pressured by rising yields.
Single-stock moves split the index
Lindt slipped 8.7% to become the STOXX 600's biggest decliner after the Swiss chocolatier cut its 2026 sales forecast for the second time this year. Julius Baer rose 7.2% after Swiss regulator FINMA closed enforcement proceedings tied to private debt loans and client ties to two politically exposed Russian individuals.
Legrand advanced 6% after the French electrical infrastructure group raised its medium-term targets.
Source: Investing.com
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