European shares gain as upbeat Micron forecast revives AI rally

By Utkarsh Hathi and Johann M Cherian

June 25 (Reuters) – European shares rose on Thursday, led by gains in technology stocks, as strong forecasts from Micron and Qualcomm assuaged concerns about ballooning valuations in the sector, while easing oil prices provided further support.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.46% at 638.11 points by 0828 GMT.

U.S. chipmakers jumped in premarket trading after Micron and Qualcomm made strong forecasts, temporarily placating investor concerns that a rally in global AI-linked stocks had run too far. 

European tech stocks, up 32% for the quarter, rose 2.4% and led gains on the benchmark. 

Chipmakers Infineon and STMicroelectronics gained 5.6% and 4.2%, respectively, while semiconductor equipment suppliers BE Semiconductor and ASML climbed 5.1% and 4.5%. 

AI-equipment makers Siemens Energy rose 1.5%.

“While Europe is sort of lacking tech leaders in a way, some of the companies are still in a place where they can get material benefits from it,” said Martin Frandsen, a portfolio manager at Principal Asset Management.

“It’s clear that Europe has big ambitions when it comes to data centres and these companies can facilitate that because they can both tap into some of the global demand but also well positioned for European push into to a digital infrastructure and data centers.”

Investors were also keeping an eye on how higher costs due to the Iran conflict was impacting corporate performance.

H&M fell 2.1% after the Swedish fashion retailer reported second-quarter operating profit below estimates, raising concerns over sluggish demand. The broader retail sector was up 0.2%.

Oil prices continued to decline as more stranded oil tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz.

In order to battle those price pressures traders are pricing in another 25 basis point interest rate hike by the European Central Bank by year-end, according to LSEG-compiled data.

A key U.S. inflation report due later in the day will also be used to gauge the outlook for U.S. interest rates for the rest of the year.

Among others, easyJet shares rose 6.3% after the British budget carrier rejected a fourth takeover offer from U.S.-based investment firm Castlelake.

German automaker Volkswagen added 1.5% after agreeing to sell its diesel engine unit Everllence to Bain Capital in a deal generating proceeds of about €7.4 billion ($8.4 billion).

Markets will also assess Germany’s July GfK consumer sentiment and France’s June consumer confidence figures for fresh insights into the region’s consumer outlook.

(Reporting by Utkarsh Hathi and Johann M Cherian an Bangaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

By Utkarsh Hathi and Johann M Cherian | Reuters | © Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026.