European equity markets opened the week with little movement on Monday, as investors waited for a packed schedule of macroeconomic events. The European Central Bank's interest-rate decision is due on Thursday, followed by US inflation data on Friday that could be important for US monetary policy. US markets were closed Monday for a holiday, so there was no immediate Wall Street cue.
Persistent tensions in the Persian Gulf weighed on risk appetite. After renewed mutual attacks in the US-Iran conflict, rising oil prices provided a headwind for some sectors.
The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.17% to 6,403.99, supported by technology and artificial-intelligence-related stocks, which were the index's biggest gainers. That marked the third consecutive session of gains for the euro-area benchmark. Outside the euro area, the UK FTSE 100 closed slightly lower at 10,822.13.
Swiss stocks fell more sharply. The SMI declined 0.81% to 14,279.38, dragged down by heavyweight shares Novartis and Swiss Re, both of which fell by more than 3%. Novartis reported a setback for Pelacarsen, a lipoprotein-lowering drug, after a study showed it did not deliver the hoped-for protection against heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death. Swiss Re was the SMI's worst performer, down 3.6%, after warning at the traditional industry meeting in Monte Carlo of growing wildfire risks.
Oil shares benefited from higher crude prices. The European oil sector index led gains, up 1.3%. Eni and Totalenergies were among the Euro Stoxx 50 winners, rising 0.6% and 1.6% respectively.
Individual AI-related stocks posted larger gains. Infineon shares rose almost 7%, extending earlier advances in Asian chip stocks, and were the top performer. ASML and Schneider Electric shares were also in demand.
A separate report said the AI buildout is creating a new bottleneck around power. New AI data centers may require not just several megawatts but multiple gigawatts of capacity, comparable to several modern nuclear reactor blocks. It described a global race for available power capacity, saying hyperscalers are securing large energy volumes through long-term contracts, while grid and generation capacity are struggling to keep pace. Geopolitical risks around the Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz were said to add pressure. The report argued that rising demand, long-term offtake contracts and higher power prices could create a favorable environment for selected energy utilities and suppliers, and it highlighted five stocks it said could benefit from AI-related energy demand.
