European Shares Slide As AI Spending Worries Mount

European shares fell sharply on Friday as the Democratic Party’s sweeping wins at this week’s midterm elections in the U.S. sparked fears of a slowdown in the pace of AI infrastructure development.

SoftBank Group’s five-year credit default swap spread climbed to a four-year high, reflecting growing concerns over the profitability of artificial intelligence investments.

Investors also digested weak data that showed German industrial output expanded 0.7 percent on a monthly basis in September, slower than the revised 1.0 percent rebound in August.