European shares were little changed on Friday but remained on track for their first weekly decline in five weeks as weakness in technology stocks and renewed tensions between the United States and Iran dampened investor sentiment.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged 0.1% lower to 640.28 points by 0849 GMT, with losses in technology companies offsetting gains in most other sectors.
The benchmark index is poised to end a four-week winning streak after investors reassessed lofty valuations in artificial intelligence-related stocks while monitoring escalating geopolitical risks in the Middle East.
The technology sector fell 1.3% on Friday as investors continued taking profits following months of strong gains driven by enthusiasm for artificial intelligence.
Stay ahead of the geopolitical week.
MD Briefing delivers expert analysis across five global fronts — the Indo-Pacific, energy, geoeconomics, European security, and the Middle East — every Monday morning. Free.
The sector also remained focused on the closely watched U.S. stock market debut of South Korean memory chip maker SK Hynix after its $26.5 billion share sale.
Among European chip-related stocks:
“The large swings we’re seeing in technology stocks suggest investors remain under stress amid elevated valuations,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank.
“Attention is now turning to SK Hynix’s U.S. debut, which could help gauge broader appetite for AI-related stocks and influence sentiment across the sector.”
Investor caution also reflected renewed uncertainty in the Middle East after Iranian forces targeted U.S. military infrastructure in Gulf states following fresh U.S. strikes on Iran.
The latest escalation further weakened the fragile three-week-old ceasefire and renewed concerns over potential disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy trade routes.
Higher oil prices and possible supply disruptions have raised concerns about inflation, particularly in energy-importing Europe, where markets are closely watching the implications for economic growth and European Central Bank policy.
Despite weakness in technology, most sectors in the STOXX 600 traded higher.
Telecommunications stocks led gains, rising 1.4%, after Vodafone surged nearly 11%.
The rally followed an announcement by UAE telecoms group e& that it would sell its stake in Vodafone to the family investment group of French billionaire Xavier Niel.
Travel and leisure stocks gained 0.8%, supported by strength in airline shares.
British budget carrier EasyJet jumped 14% after agreeing in principle to a £5.7 billion ($7.65 billion) takeover approach from Apollo Global.
European steelmakers outperformed after J.P. Morgan adopted a more positive view of the sector.
The investment bank upgraded ArcelorMittal to “neutral” from “underweight,” lifting its shares 5%.
Austria’s Voestalpine climbed 6%, while Germany’s Salzgitter surged 10.3% after both companies received double upgrades to “overweight.”
Wealth manager St. James’s Place was among the session’s biggest losers, falling 8.5% after reports that Sovereign Wealth, one of its largest partner firms, was in talks to join a Swedish wealth management group.
Markets are expected to remain focused on two key drivers in the coming days: whether the renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities escalate further and whether SK Hynix’s U.S. debut reinforces or weakens investor confidence in the AI-driven technology rally.
With geopolitical risks pushing oil prices higher and technology valuations facing increased scrutiny, analysts expect volatility across European equities to remain elevated in the near term.
With information from Reuters.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management executed a highly active rebalancing strategy for the week ending May 22, 2026. The latest trading data reveals a distinct shift away from certain legacy chipmakers and streaming tech, rotating capital heavily into digital asset infrastructure, next-gen aviation, AI hardware, and
remotevfx
Digital asset ETFs experienced heavy selling pressure last week as Bitcoin (BTC-USD) briefly dipped near $75K amid rising macro uncertainty and bond market stress.
From May 18 to May 22, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.26B in net outflows, according to
WOULD you believe me if I told you that you could bag yourself a break for £1 just by doing your regular grocery shopping at Sainsbury’s or by filling up with petrol at BP – no strings attached?
You may roll your eyes at the term ‘loyalty scheme’, but you’re going to want to hear me out on this one, as Avios will make your Boots Advantage Card seem utterly pathetic.
And I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but what you think you know about Avios or air miles is completely wrong. You won’t need to hop on a single flight to earn points here.
In fact, I’m so confident about this scheme that if you follow my advice below for one year and don’t end up with enough points for a free flight or holiday, I’ll eat my hat (…that I bought with my points).
So, pay close attention. Here’s everything you need to know.
It is essentially a rewards currency, some may call it an air-mile points scheme, although it’s so much more than that.
Avios is linked to the IAG (International Airlines Group) loyalty scheme, meaning you can earn and (most importantly) spend with British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL, as well as partner airlines Qatar Airways, Finnair, and Loganair.
It’s a very common mistake, however, to think that you can only earn Avios on direct spend with these airlines, by booking flights, for example.
IAG Loyalty allows you to collect a generous number of points on over 2,000 brands, including major names like Deliveroo, Domino’s Pizza and Just Eat – and that’s only if you want a takeaway.
Clothing retail brands include River Island, H&M and Sports Direct, while department stores include Debenhams, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer, and wellness brands include Superdrug, Boots and Holland & Barrett.
You can earn points (Avios) on every penny you spend with these brands.
I won’t name every brand right now, but you can find the list here on the Avios website – chances are if it’s a well known name, it’ll be on there.
I was sceptical too, but rest assured you won’t have to pain-stakingly collect points for 10 years to reap the benefits.
A few months ago I gained 2,500 Avios simply by renewing my car insurance with Compare the Market – another brand on IAG Loyalty’s books.
I’ll explain what the number of points equates to below, but, in rough terms, that’s about a quarter of the points you’d need to pay for a one-way flight to Amsterdam.
If you’re serious about it, you can earn mega points quickly and easily (more on that below too).
The most popular way to spend Avios is on “reward” flights with the IAG and Oneworld airlines. The big players will tell you that this gets you the most for your money, but you can also redeem your points against holiday packages (flights and hotel), as well as hotels, car hire and cases of wine.
There’s also the Avios shop which sells everything from perfumes and lotions to Apple products and coffee machines; plus you can convert Avios to Nectar points and spend in Sainsbury’s, Argos or Habitat; or feast at Pizza Express.
That’s why Avios is nothing like your Boots card – you’re not tied to one product or brand.
It varies from retailer to retailer with many brands offering special deals throughout the year – keep your eyes peeled at Christmas time and in January.
But to give you some perspective, last month I earned 1,790 Avios, just through my regular, everyday shopping: I get 19 points for my train to work (booked through Uber), I earned 136 points for buying some protein powder and 14 points for some new socks from ASOS.
No, I’m not a big spender. I’m a frugal 33-year-old that’s currently living with her parents, in the process of buying her first home, meaning my key expenses are my commute to work, petrol for my car and the odd meal out with pals.
I – properly – started my Avios journey almost exactly two years ago and I now have 99,420 Avios.
Just shy of enough to fly me to the furthest-away destination possible, Sydney, Australia, and all the way back again.
But that is by following a few simple rules carved out at the end of this piece.
If you’re just looking for flights then 10,000 points can get you a one-way ticket to short haul destinations like Paris, Copenhagen or Munich, while 27,500 can get you to the far-flung cities of Chicago, Dubai and Toronto.
Sydney is of course the priciest spot, costing a minimum of 55,000 Avios each way.
The above figures are all based on travelling in an economy seat at off-peak times, although you can splash your points on premium economy flights and even business class, or use points to upgrade if you’ve already booked your flight.
Head for Points has a useful table on which destinations your points will get you to.
There is one thing you need to know, though.
You may have noticed that my opening sentence to this piece read: “bag a break for £1”. That is because you will have to pay a flat-fee, essentially a nominal charge that covers taxes, carrier charges and a fixed Avios amount.
For short-haul flights like Paris, this is just £1, but for destinations like Chicago this is £60 and this price increases if you decide to fly in an upper cabin or further afield.
Points work differently on holidays and products, however, and you can pay partly in points and partly in cash – the split is entirely up to you. If, for example, I were to buy a fancy Dyson hairdryer worth £400, I could pay £200 in cash and the rest can be paid with 33,670 Avios.
This requires several minutes of faffing to set yourself up and link your cards and accounts, but once you’re done that’s everything sorted for good.
Sign up for free to Avios here, or if you are already a member of the free British Airways Club you can sign in that way – or you can sign in via Iberia Club or Aer Club if you’d prefer.
Those who like to shop on their phones should download the Avios app.
What comes next is the MOST important step. In general, every time you do any online shopping, you should check if you can earn points at that retailer by clicking on the ‘collect’ button on the Avios site or on the app.
Then select that retailer and the ‘shop now’ button. This will register your visit and then you can shop as normal and earn those points.
If you use Uber, link your account to your Avios account (Avios has a guide on this); if you buy your petrol at BP, link your Avios account to your BPme account; and if you shop at Sainsbury’s, link your Nectar account to your Avios account… you get the drift by now.
If you have the ability to do so, get yourself a British Airways American Express credit card.
You don’t necessarily need one to earn Avios but simply using the Amex for the majority of your spending is the easiest way to accumulate points. Just remember to pay it off in full at the end of the month.
I have just two rules for earning big: Always(!) check if you can earn Avios before making any purchase (literally, any purchase) and only buy what you were going to in the first place – no willy-nilly spending, please.
Of course there are other airline loyalty schemes, I just don’t know enough about those yet.
Watch this space though…
Plenty has happened over the past seven days, including a nervy win for England’s women’s cricket team, some season-defining football matches and more Fifa World Cup build-up.
About 21% of quizzers got full marks in last week’s edition. Will you make the grade this week?
After more quizzes? Go to our dedicated Football Quizzes and Sports Quizzes pages and sign up for notifications to get the latest quizzes sent straight to your device.