European shares opened lower on Friday and were on course for a small weekly fall as geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and a pause in the technology rally weighed on investor sentiment.
By 0713 GMT the pan-European STOXX 600 index was trading about 0.2% lower at 623.10 points and was set to post a roughly 0.5% decline for the week.
Energy markets reflected the geopolitical backdrop. Brent crude stood near $95 a barrel and looked likely to finish the week higher, as prospects for a diplomatic resolution between the U.S. and Iran appeared limited following reciprocal strikes earlier in the week. The fate of a U.S.-brokered Israel-Lebanon ceasefire also remained uncertain after Hezbollah rejected the pact.
Technology stocks were the weakest sector, sliding around 2% as the group took a breather after a vigorous two-month advance that lifted tech shares more than 33% over that period - the strongest performance among STOXX 600 sectors. Momentum in tech appeared to pause globally after disappointing results from U.S.-based Broadcom, which fed through into both Asian and U.S. markets and weighed on European chip and equipment names.
On the continent, chipmakers saw notable falls: Infineon and Aixtron each dropped by more than 4%. Among suppliers to industrial and AI-related systems, Legrand and Schneider Electric each slipped roughly 1%.
Activity among UK midcaps was mixed and driven by corporate announcements. Bodycote shares fell about 11% after the British thermal processing services company said that Apollo Global Management does not intend to make a firm offer for it. Conversely, Raspberry Pi surged 11.2% after the single-board computing firm raised its full-year profit forecast, attributing stronger-than-expected adjusted core profit to robust AI-related demand.
Market movers mentioned: Bodycote, Raspberry Pi, Infineon, Aixtron, Legrand, Schneider Electric; Brent crude prices were cited at $95 a barrel.