European Shares To Open On Cautious Note As AI Disruption Fears Rattle Markets

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening on a cautious note Friday amid growing skepticism about the returns on AI infrastructure investments.

OpenAI has warned U.S. lawmakers that Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek is using advanced distillation techniques to copy AI model behavior.

Separately, Microsoft AI boss Mustafa Sulayman said in an interview with the Financial Times that most computer-based roles could be automated within 12-18 months as the company accelerates its push for "professional-grade AGI" and AI self-sufficiency.

U.S. equity futures were little changed, consolidating after a broad sell-off overnight as chip equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. gave an upbeat forecast in late hours.

Also, Rivian Automotive, a prominent player in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, beat fourth-quarter expectations and said it's targeting a significant increase in vehicle deliveries this year.

Asian markets followed Wall Street lower as worries about artificial-intelligence disruption engulfed industries from logistics to commercial real estate.

The dollar steadied while the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries declined seven basis points to 4.10 percent as investors braced for the U.S. Labor Department's report on consumer price inflation for January later in the day that could shed additional clues on the likely path of interest rates.

Analysts expect the critical core CPI measure to ease to around 2.5 percent, marking a near five-year low.

The EUR/USD pair was little changed ahead of the flash Eurozone GDP data due later in the day.

Gold rose more than 1 percent in Asian trade after slumping 3 percent in the previous session on dwindling hopes for Fed rate cuts.

Oil extended losses after falling nearly 3 percent in the previous session, pressured by a bearish outlook from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and signs that diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran could be prolonged.

Prices headed for their second weekly decline amid a risk-off tone in wider markets.

Overnight, U.S. stocks tumbled as investors fretted about the impact AI could have on revenues and profit margins of financial, transportation and logistics and even commercial real estate companies.

Networking giant Cisco Systems gave a weaker-than-expected forecast for profitability, signaling higher memory-chip prices are taking a toll.

In economic news, Treasury yields reached two-month lows after the number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims decreased less than expected last week and existing home sales tumbled to the lowest level in more than two years in January.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 2 percent, the S&P 500 slumped 1.6 percent and the Dow declined 1.3 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Thursday despite upbeat earnings from the likes of Legrand, Hermes and Siemens.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained half a percent. The German DAX finished marginally lower and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.7 percent while France's CAC 40 edged up by 0.3 percent.