Europe midday: Shares edge ahead amid tech caution

(Sharecast News) - European shares were slightly higher on Friday as geopolitical concerns and jitters around artificial intelligence valuations continued to weigh on sentiment.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 was up 0.14% to 641 at 1122 BST with all major bourses higher. Spain's IBEX gained after US President Donald Trump appeared to soften his bellicose tone on potential trade measures after earlier calling the nation a poor NATO partner and threatening to cut off trade ties.

His attacks on Madrid came amid disputes involving Spain's criticism of the US-Israel conflict with Iran and over defence spending.

However, he struck a more conciliatory tone in remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One after the Nato summit in Turkey, saying Spain had "come back all the way" and had been "very generous," suggesting that recent information about Madrid's defence spending had influenced his change of heart.

In equity news, shares in easyJet jumped 13% after a surprise £5.7bn takeover deal with the US private equity firm Apollo, trumping a rival bid from Castlelake.

Vodafone jumped as French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel become its largest shareholder after buying a 16.21% stake for £4.4bn.

On Friday, Emirati telecoms group E&, which first took a stake in Vodafone in 2022, announced the sale of its entire shareholding for 112.5p a share.

Chip stocks were weaker, with Siltronic, Soitec and ASML all lower as investors eyed SK Hynix's US market debut.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com