European technology stocks and the STOXX Europe 600 index fell 1.3% to a six-week low, dragged by weakness in semiconductor shares.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Sunday backed calls to “slow” AI development to prevent frontier models from outpacing human control. He echoed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, saying a shift toward safety will carry costs but is warranted to maintain confidence in U.S. firms’ responsible development of powerful AI. Altman wrote that “any U.S. competitive pressure should not be an excuse for recklessness, nor allow capabilities to outrun alignment and monitoring; when we talk about ‘slowing’ we do not mean ‘stopping’.” The remarks follow rare public agreement from Amodei and Elon Musk. Altman told staff earlier this month OpenAI is willing to slow frontier progress to better understand risks and confirmed the company will not IPO in 2026 while prioritizing safety.

Brent rose 3% to $104.74/bbl and WTI climbed 2.8% to $99.33/bbl after an attack prompted a precautionary shutdown of Saudi Arabia's east–west oil pipeline and a Gulf regional meeting was postponed.