The Lisbon stock exchange closed the session in negative territory, with the PSI falling 1.13% to 9,417.28 points. Among the companies that fell the most were EDP Renováveis with a decline of 4.84%, EDP with -3.02%, and Mota-Engil with -2.25%. On the contrary, NOS gained 1.24%, Sonae rose 1%, and Galp advanced 0.42%. The major European markets also closed lower, with the DAX falling 0.30%, the CAC40 down 0.63%, and the Ibex35 losing 0.92%.
Market analyst at Millennium Investment Banking, Ramiro Loureiro, explained that European stock exchanges are trading lower after the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic called for a slowdown in artificial intelligence development due to security concerns. Additional pressure comes from the continuous rise in oil prices, driven by the escalation of the Middle East conflict and the closure of an important Saudi pipeline.
The technology sector leads the declines, with semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related companies falling significantly. In contrast, software stocks that were suffering from concerns about the risks of AI tools disruption reacted upward. The monetary policy decisions of the US Federal Reserve, scheduled for the 16th, take a central role this week, with markets assigning a high probability to an interest rate hike.
In the oil market, WTI Texas rose 2.49% to $102.51 per barrel and Brent advanced 2.83% to $107.59. Natural gas increased 2.30% to $2.896. In the foreign exchange market, the euro depreciated 0.48% against the dollar, settling at $1.1543.
