European shares edge higher as chip stocks gain following Microsoft’s AI investment announcement
European shares ticked up Monday as chip stocks advanced following Microsoft’s AI investment announcement, kicking off a week packed with economic data around the world.
Europe’s premier index, the STOXX 600. STOXX was up 0.2% as of 0918 GMT, taking cues from an upbeat close on Wall Street on Friday.
Technology. SX8P led gains amongst the major STOXX sub-sectors, adding close to 3%, with chip stocks such as ASML ASML.AS, ASMI ASMI.AS, and STMicroelectronics STMPA.PA at the helm of gains.
Semiconductor makers got a boost after Microsoft MSFT.O on Friday said it is planning to invest about $80 billion in fiscal 2025 on developing data centres to train artificial intelligence models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications.
“The demand amid U.S. big tech for AI capability is voracious at the moment, so the expectation is that demand for semiconductor chips will still be extremely strong going through 2025,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Investment in AI has surged since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, as companies across sectors seek to integrate artificial intelligence into their products and services.
AI requires enormous computing power, pushing demand for specialised data centres that enable tech companies to link thousands of chips together in clusters.
