The Amsterdam stock exchange opened lower on Friday, with the benchmark AEX index hit by a tech-led sell-off across Asian markets sparked by surging memory chip prices.
The AEX index dipped 0.5% to 1,062.05 points, while the mid-cap MidKap index shed 0.1% to sit at 1,479.15 points. Elsewhere in Europe, bourses in London, Frankfurt, and Paris all suffered losses of up to 0.6%. The downbeat start followed a turbulent session in Asia, where South Korea’s Kospi plunged 5.8%—triggering an automatic trading halt—and Tokyo’s Nikkei index dropped over 4%.
Market sentiment soured following news that Apple is hiking product prices due to the soaring cost of memory chips. A massive influx of investment into artificial intelligence data centres has squeezed production capacity for standard electronics chips, prompting Microsoft to similarly announce price increases for its Xbox consoles. Adding to the tech gloom, The New York Times reported that ChatGPT creator OpenAI may delay its hotly anticipated stock market flotation until next year, driven by recent market volatility.
On the local trading floor, telecom giant KPN defied the downturn to lead the AEX gainers with a 1.3% rise following an upgrade by analysts at Citi. Conversely, chip manufacturing equipment maker Besi was the index’s worst performer, sliding 3.2% after a downgrade by KBC Securities.
In European stock movements, German online retailer Zalando saw its shares plummet over 5% in Frankfurt after the financial watchdog BaFin launched an investigation into potential accounting irregularities. Meanwhile, oil prices retreated as anxieties eased over a recent shipping incident in the Strait of Hormuz; Brent crude fell 2% to $73.76 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate dropped 2.1% to $70.43.
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
