The European markets have ended the week with a mix of resilience and reckoning.
The FTSE 100 in London eked gains, as the banks rallied after fresh hints of rate reductions on the horizon. Tech-related names, however, remained under pressure.
Brussels officially charged TikTok for its addictive features. Regulators across the continent have intensified their focus on Big Tech.
The brutal sale of Stellantis by the company revealed how fast the narrative about electric vehicles is changing when the demand for them, and not the policy behind it, dictates the pace.
FTSE 100 ticks higher
The FTSE 100 managed to gain a little on Friday as Britain’s major lenders took the lead, offsetting a further decline in RELX, a data company.
Barclays shares, NatWest and Lloyds rose between 1% to 1.6% on fresh Bank of England signals that rate reductions could be considered if inflation remains low.
The screen wasn’t entirely green.
RELX fell another 3.5%. This is the fourth consecutive week that RELX has lost money. Traders continue to factor in possible existential threats from Anthropic’s “Claude” AI tool, which could threaten its legal analytics division.
The blue-chip index is resilient. However, the battleground for the stock market has become the divide between the old-school financial stocks and the AI-threatened technology companies.
EU accuses TikTok of exploiting users’ psychology
The European Commission officially charged TikTok for violating the Digital Services Act. They claim that its design features such as infinite scrolling and autoplay along with aggressive push notifications exploit the psychology of users to cause addiction.
The regulators claim that these rabbit hole mechanics can cause serious mental risks for minors. They are effectively trapped in the loops of compulsive use without any safeguards such as age verification.
ByteDance’s parent company is at risk. TikTok could be fined up to 6% its annual global turnover or forced into a redesign of the core interface of their app in Europe if found guilty.
Although TikTok claims that the allegations are “meritless,” it marks an important escalation of Brussels’ war against Big Tech engagement models.
Stellantis stock plunges 25%
Stellantis has slowed down its plans to go electric, and announced a $26 billion “reset” of its strategy in response to a cooling demand for EVs.
Automaker Jeep, which includes Chrysler in its portfolio, is refocusing on hybrids and internal-combustion engines after admitting that it had “overestimated the pace of energy transition”.
This write-down includes scrapped EVs, supply chain restructuring and a move away from models that are compliance driven, but customers don’t buy.
Antonio Filosa, CEO of Filosa Metals Inc. said it bluntly: “Mandates do not move metal; consumer demand does.”
Wall Street has received a clear message with shares down 25%: Profitability now takes priority over an electrified future which isn’t here yet.
The post Europe Bulletin: FTSE surges, EU charges TikTok and Stellantis stocks plunges can be updated as new developments unfold.
