European shares edge higher as ASML's AI demand outlook boosts tech

Business Recorder reported that European equities nudged higher on Wednesday, regaining ground lost in the prior session, as a strong update from ASML lifted technology shares. By 0713 GMT the pan-European STOXX 600 index had risen 0.32 per cent to 636.99 points, having slipped from a one-week peak the day before.

ASML, the largest global provider of chipmaking gear, gained 1.8 per cent after stating that demand for its chip-printing machines, boosted by artificial intelligence, is so robust that it cannot fully satisfy orders in 2027 and 2028. The company is weighing options to expand output and has lifted its sales forecast for the full year.

Elsewhere, the technology sector advanced 0.8 per cent and topped the gains across sectors, while oil prices rose following strikes on two ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Orsted dropped 4.2 per cent after Bloomberg News said the US would reassess approval for a wind farm in Rhode Island. Traders now await US CPI figures due later on Wednesday, a release that bears on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook.