Ibex 35 struggles to hold 19,000 as AI fears and bank losses hit European markets

European stock markets fell sharply on Thursday, with Spain's Ibex 35 and the EuroStoxx 50 both dropping over 1.5%. The Spanish index is struggling to hold the 19,000-point level due to renewed investor fears about artificial intelligence valuations and declines in the European banking sector. The sell-off is driven by concerns beyond tech, including rising eurozone sovereign debt yields amid unrest in France and a 2.5% jump in Brent crude oil to $112 per barrel. The Ibex, where banks represent 30-40% of its weight, is hit hardest, with Bankinter falling 6%, CaixaBank 3.5%, and Santander around 3%. Investor anxiety focuses on capital expenditure by AI-linked companies, with Tesla and Meta's spending plans disappointing markets. Credit default swaps for firms like CoreWeave and SoftBank have spiked. Wall Street indices also fell about 1% pre-open, while geopolitical tensions in Saudi Arabia and potential US-Iran conflict push oil prices higher.