European equity markets were mixed on Monday as technology and semiconductor shares declined, while investors monitored higher oil prices and prepared for interest rate decisions from several major central banks.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was broadly unchanged. Germany’s DAX was also flat, while France’s CAC 40 declined 0.2%. London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.5%.
The moves came ahead of policy decisions from the US Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and Bank of England later in the week.
Semiconductor Shares Decline
European technology and semiconductor stocks moved lower after the leaders of OpenAI and Anthropic jointly called for a temporary slowdown in the development of advanced artificial intelligence models.
BE Semiconductor (EU:BESI) shares fell 5.2%, while ASML (EU:ASML) declined 4.4%. STMicroelectronics (BIT:STMMI) was down 3.4%.
The declines affected AI-linked technology and semiconductor companies trading across several European markets.
Brent Crude Trades Near $112
Brent crude futures rose another 3% to around $112 a barrel, extending gains that have taken oil prices nearly 40% higher since early July.
The latest increase followed military strikes on Saudi Arabian infrastructure, including an attack on a major oil pipeline. Developments involving Yemen’s Houthi rebels near Red Sea transit routes also added to concerns about regional shipping and energy supplies.
A planned diplomatic meeting in Oman between Iran and Gulf Arab states concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic was also postponed.
Markets Price 86% Probability of Fed Rate Increase
Investors are also preparing for several monetary policy decisions following last week’s European Central Bank interest rate increase to 2.50%.
Money markets were pricing an 86% probability that the Federal Reserve would increase its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points at its 15-16 September meeting.
Swap markets were also assigning a high probability to another quarter-point increase in December.
The Bank of Japan is widely expected to raise interest rates on 18 September, while the Bank of England is also due to announce its latest monetary policy decision.
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