European stocks were mixed on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious due to rising valuations of artificial intelligence companies globally, while markets awaited the outcome of the NATO summit in Turkey for clues about new government defense contracts.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index settled at 650.88 points, after ending Monday's session slightly below its record highs.
Germany’s DAX index fell 0.2% to 25,760.96 points, while Britain’s FTSE index rose 0.3% to 10,691.70 points, and France’s CAC index climbed 0.5% to 8,523.05 points.
The technology sector led the losses, declining 1.6%, with shares of ASML and Infineon each falling by about 4%.
Shares in Siemens Energy also fell 5.5% after Barclays Bank downgraded its recommendation for the stock to underweight from neutral.
The losses in the European technology sector were in line with the weak performance of global markets, amid concerns that the surge in chip stocks over the past quarter had pushed sector valuations to high levels.
Shares of Samsung Electronics in South Korea fell despite strong financial forecasts, while Nasdaq futures on Wall Street declined by about 1%.
In contrast, the defense sector posted modest gains, with investors focused on the NATO summit, where member states are expected to announce new defense deals in response to US pressure to increase European defense spending. The sector has been the best performer on the Stoxx 600 index since the beginning of the month.
Shares in Swedish defense equipment maker Saab rose 5.3% after Morgan Stanley upgraded its recommendation for the stock to overweight from underweight.
Among other stocks, Shell shares rose 2.2% after the energy company slightly raised its forecast for the performance of the integrated gas sector during the second quarter.
