Europe’s Stoxx 600 hovers near all-time high; tech lags
Published Thu, Nov 5, 2026 · 09:37 PM
[BENGALURU] Strong mining gains led European shares higher on Thursday (nov 5), with the benchmark just shy of hitting a record high, while technology shares lagged as investors weighed the implications of a Democratic sweep in the US midterm elections.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.7 per cent to 661.99 points by 0905 GMT. All major regional benchmarks were also higher, led by a 1.7 per cent gain in Spain’s IBEX.
Basic resources rose 2 per cent, boosted by ArcelorMittal’s 5 per cent gain after the world’s second-largest steel maker topped core profit expectations.
Investors were broadly relieved by a Democratic win in both houses of Congress in the US and that US President Donald Trump acknowledged defeat.
Further, expectations were high that efforts to end the Iran conflict could be accelerated, while the Democrats could keep a check on excessive fiscal spending and policies targeting sectors such as European banks and clean energy.
However, uncertainty prevailed over the outlook for the global technology sector on concerns that increased scrutiny over data centre build-out could slow down spending on developing artificial intelligence, although analysts highlighted that existing orders are unlikely to be affected.
“Concerns about a potential tightening of AI regulations have not disappeared, but they appear to be offset for now by robust investment in data centres and resilient corporate earnings,” said John Plassard, head of investment strategy at Cité Gestion, in a note.
Chip stocks including Siltronic shed 7.3 per cent, while chip equipment maker ASML lost 2.4 per cent and Soitec was off 4.8 per cent.
Asian tech stocks witnessed steep declines and US Nasdaq futures shed 0.7 per cent.
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France’s Legrand gained 5.5 per cent after raising its 2026 sales growth forecast for the second time this year on robust data centre demand.
Software stocks, which have had the overhang of AI disruption concerns this year, were also marginally higher. SAP and Dassault Systemes were up over 1 per cent each.
Thursday also brought a wave of corporate earnings.
Rheinmetall slid 16.5 per cent after cutting its 2026 sales forecast for the second time in three months. Renewables such as Orsted and Nordex rose 4.2 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, after they reported strong results.
Air France-KLM gained over 11 per cent after exceeding third-quarter operating profit expectations.
Aker BP shed 11.2 per cent after the UK’s BP said it sold a 5 per cent stake in the Norwegian oil and gas company. Later in the day, investors will be keen on interest rate decisions out of the UK. REUTERS
