European shares fell sharply on Friday, 6 November, as a heavy sell-off in technology stocks spread from Wall Street, yet the region's benchmark still ended the week ahead of its American counterpart for 2026 as a whole. The pan-European STOXX 600 dropped as much as 1.6% during the session, its steepest daily fall since July, wiping out its gains for the week.

Germany's DAX declined 1.7%, France's CAC 40 lost 1.4%, Spain's IBEX 35 fell 1% and London's FTSE 100 retreated 1.5%. The selling followed a steep overnight fall on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq Composite entered correction territory after dropping 5.52% on Thursday, its largest single-session loss in 19 months.

Europe holds its 2026 lead

Despite the rout, the STOXX 600 held a year-to-date gain of more than 10%, compared with just over 7% for the S&P 500. The European index ended the week only about 0.2% lower, a smaller loss than in Asia or on Wall Street, after coming close to a fresh record on Thursday. The relative resilience reflects Europe's lower exposure to artificial intelligence stocks, which have driven the recent selling, and a more diversified mix of financial, industrial and consumer businesses.

Earnings offer support

Company results also helped limit the damage. About half of STOXX 600 constituents have now reported third-quarter figures, and more than half of those have beaten consensus profit expectations. That earnings backdrop, alongside cheaper valuations than US markets, has kept European equities in favour with investors even as volatility returns to global markets.