European stocks down, oil prices rise on inflation and Middle East tensions

Europe’s main stock markets closed lower amid growing fears of a fresh surge in inflation linked to rising energy commodity prices. Markets were also weighed down by doubts over the sustainability of investments in artificial intelligence and data centres, which in recent months have underpinned much of the growth in equity markets (ANSA).

Index / sector	Change
Stoxx 600	-0.7%
Frankfurt	-1%
Paris	-0.7%
London	-0.6%
Madrid	-0.3%
Technology sector	-2.1%
Banks	-1.3%
Insurance	-0.22%

The technology sector weighed most heavily on the markets, followed by banking and, to a lesser extent, insurance. The distribution of the decline — sharper in Frankfurt, more contained in Madrid — points to a widespread but uneven downturn across Europe’s main exchanges.

On the energy front, oil prices rose on Thursday morning, supported by ongoing tensions in the Middle East, which are keeping markets on alert for possible supply disruptions. Adding to this was a larger-than-expected drop in US stockpiles, a figure that further pushed crude prices upward (Investing.com Italia).

The combination of rising oil prices and falling European stocks fits a pattern consistent with the inflation fears highlighted in the first report: more costly energy commodities fuel expectations of higher consumer prices, while uncertainty over the sustainability of the artificial intelligence investment boom continues to weigh on technology stocks on both sides of the Atlantic.

The available excerpts do not report, for this day, absolute oil price levels or the percentage size of the drop in US stockpiles, limiting themselves to describing the direction of the moves.