European stocks set for sharp declines as global market fears are reignited

LONDON — European stocks are expected to open in negative territory as concerns over artificial intelligence and volatility in precious metals haunt global markets.

The U.K.’s FTSE index is seen opening 0.5% lower, Germany’s DAX down almost 1%, France’s CAC 40 down 0.8% and Italy’s FTSE MIB also down by a similar amount, according to data from IG.

The sharp declines expected in Europe on Monday come amid similar moves in global markets.

Asia-Pacific markets fell overnight with South Korean benchmarks leading declines, as investors monitored gold and silver prices after Friday’s sharp declines. Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures fell on Sunday night as traders kept an eye on bitcoin after a weekend sell-off.

Bitcoin on Saturday dropped below $80,000 for the first time since April, a sign investors were taking more risk off the table following Friday’s sharp declines in precious metals.

Silver, which has more than doubled over the past 12 months, plunged around 30% on Friday. That marked the metal’s worst one-day performance since 1980. Gold also dropped around 9%.

Wall Street also turned its attention to Nvidia as questions over the artificial intelligence boom loomed. Nvidia’s plans to pour $100 billion into OpenAI have stalled, with chipmaker execs expressing doubt about the deal, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Earnings in Europe come from Julius Baer Group today, while German retail sales and Spanish new car sales are due data-wise.

— CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed to this market report.