European stocks slid, posting the biggest retreat since they began rallying in January, as concern over Greek debt was exacerbated by declines in the US and Asia.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index lost 1.8 percent to 403.69 at the close of trading, completing the worst week of the year.
The Greek ASE Index slid 3 percent, with the National Bank of Greece SA and Alpha Bank AE tumbling more than 7 percent, as the country struggled to win more aid to avoid a default.
Germany’s DAX plunged 5.5 percent this week, the most since 2011.
European stocks fell for a second day after reaching a fresh peak on Wednesday, taking weekly losses to 2.2 percent. The STOXX 600 is still up 18 percent this year amid European Central Bank stimulus, and trades near the highest level relative to projected profits of its members in at least a decade.
“We’ve become a bit more cautious over the past few months because markets have been rallying pretty rapidly,” said Dirk Thiels, head of investment management at KBC Asset Management in Brussels. “Valuations are pricing in a lot. Stocks are still pretty close to a record.”
The volume of STOXX 600-listed shares traded was 22 percent higher than the 30-day average, data compiled by Bloomberg show. All 19 industry groups fell.
Greek stocks plunged 6 percent this week for the worst performance among Western European markets. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned on Thursday that she would not let the country miss a debt payment.
“The major macro thing at play now is the Greek saga,” Thiels said. “There’s a low chance of a Greek exit, but anything between that and a full-fledged rescue is also possible.”
European and US stocks fell with China’s index futures after regulators in the world’s second-biggest economy clamped down on the use of shadow financing for equity purchases and expanded the supply of shares available for short sellers.
Among stocks moving on corporate news, Syngenta AG dropped 4.4 percent after first-quarter sales missed projections. SKF AB tumbled 8.2 percent after reporting profit below estimates. Abertis Infraestructuras SA fell 2.7 percent as an investor sold a stake.
ASML Holding NV’s new advanced chip machines have a daunting price tag, said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), one of the Dutch company’s biggest clients. “The cost is very high,” TSMC senior vice president Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, referring to ASML’s latest system known as high-NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV). “I like the high-NA EUV’s capability, but I don’t like the sticker price,” Zhang said. ASML’s new chip machine can imprint semiconductors with lines that are just 8 nanometers thick — 1.7 times smaller than the previous generation. The machines cost 350 million euros (US$378 million)
Apple Inc has closed in on an agreement with OpenAI to use the start-up’s technology on the iPhone, part of a broader push to bring artificial intelligence (AI) features to its devices, people familiar with the matter said. The two sides have been finalizing terms for a pact to use ChatGPT features in Apple’s iOS 18, the next iPhone operating system, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the situation is private. Apple also has held talks with Alphabet Inc’s Google about licensing its Gemini chatbot. Those discussions have not led to an agreement, but are ongoing. An OpenAI
INSATIABLE: Almost all AI innovators are working with the chipmaker to address the rapidly growing AI-related demand for energy-efficient computing power, the CEO said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported about 60 percent annual growth in revenue for last month, benefiting from rapidly growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing applications. Revenue last month expanded to NT$236.02 billion (US$7.28 billion), compared with NT$147.9 billion in April last year, the second-highest level in company history, TSMC said in a statement. On a monthly basis, revenue surged 20.9 percent, from NT$195.21 billion in March. As AI-related applications continue to show strong growth, TSMC expects revenue to expand about 27.6 percent year-on-year during the current quarter to between US$19.6 billion and US$20.4 billion. That would
‘FULL SUPPORT’: Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura said he hopes more companies would settle in the prefecture to create an area similar to Taiwan’s Hsinchu Science Park The newly elected governor of Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture said he is ready to ensure wide-ranging support to woo Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to build its third Japanese chip factory there. Concerns of groundwater shortages when TSMC’s two plants begin operations in the prefecture’s Kikuyo have spurred discussions about the possibility of tapping unused dam water, Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura said in an interview on Saturday. While Kimura said talks about a third plant have yet to occur, Bloomberg had reported TSMC is already considering its third Japanese fab — also in Kumamoto — which would make more advanced chips. “We are