Finance

European Stocks Mixed as AI Sell-off Ripples from Wall Street; Safran Leads

European shares were mixed on Friday as an AI-fueled sell-off on Wall Street spilled into Europe. Safran led gains, while property names slid, as investors awaited U.S. inflation data and kept an eye on metals markets.

European Stocks Mixed as AI Sell-off Ripples from Wall Street; Safran Leads

Key Takeaways

  • Stoxx 600 hovered near flat as AI-driven U.S. tech weakness spilled into Europe.
  • Safran rose 7.3% after reporting 2025 net income of 3.17 billion euros and revenue of 31.3 billion euros (up 15%).
  • NatWest Group Q4 profit came in at £1.48 billion, beating estimates of £1.24 billion.
  • Land Securities and British Land fell about 2.5% while Segro dropped 1.2% amid AI jitters in Europe.
  • London aluminum futures fell 1.2% and US aluminum futures down 0.6%, with front-month steel futures down 0.1% as traders await U.S. CPI data at 8:30 a.m. ET.

People Involved

  • No specific individuals mentioned

Entities Involved

  • SafranAerospace and defense group
  • NatWest GroupBritish banking group
  • Land Securities plcReal estate investment trust (REIT)
  • British Land plcReal estate investment trust (REIT)
  • Segro plcIndustrial real estate REIT
  • Vonovia SEGerman residential real estate group
  • Munich Security ConferenceInternational security conference underway
  • Bureau of Labor StatisticsU.S. government statistics agency
  • CNBCNews outlet reporting on markets

MarketMoodz Analysis

The AI-driven sell-off on Wall Street has spilled into Europe, nudging the Stoxx 600 toward a flat-to-soft trading mood and widening the performance gap between defensives and cyclical exposure. With U.S. inflation data due at 8:30 a.m. ET, investors will test how much pricing pressure remains and how that shapes Europe’s rate-sensitive pockets, including banks and real estate stocks.

Historically, AI-driven momentum shifts have prompted sector rotations that punish rate-sensitive assets like property while favoring resilient performers such as defense and selective industrials. The Safran outperformance illustrates that winners tied to defense and aerospace can still post reliable growth even as tech-heavy peers retreat. Key things to watch next include the U.S. CPI print, any signal from tariff negotiations that affect metals demand, and geopolitical risk signals at the Munich Security Conference.

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