European shares fell on Thursday as chip stocks slid and Nestlé tumbled, while investors concluded that a European Central Bank (ECB) rate hike remains in play in September, even as it kept rates at its latest governing council meeting after increasing official borrowing costs last month. Geopolitical concerns added to the pressure. After months of investor focus on the Strait of Hormuz, attention has ‌shifted to the Red Sea, where Iranian-aligned Houthis, who control ​areas near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, have opened a new front in the Middle East crisis.Brent crude futures rose ​past $100 (€87.90) a barrel, their highest level since late May. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 1.2 per cent. DublinThe Iseq All-Share index slid 2.4 per cent to 13,317.39. Ryanair plunged 5.1 per cent to €23.32, as rising oil prices weighed on market sentiment towards the carrier, days after it reported weaker than expected results. Fellow travel-related play Irish Continental Group (ICG) fell 1.6 per cent to €6.30. Banks were also out of favour, with AIB off 1.9 per cent a €10.64, while Bank of Ireland slipped 0.6 per cent to €18.21. PTSB dipped 0.3 per cent to €3.02, but remained ahead of the €2.97 price that Austrian bank Bawag has agreed to buy the lender for, subject to approval at a PTSB extraordinary general meeting next week. LondonThe blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.7 per cent to 10,639.2 points, reversing most of the previous session’s ​1 per cent rise. Precious metal miners dropped 5.1 per cent as gold prices fell around 2 per cent on a ‌stronger ‌dollar ​and rising inflation concerns due to the oil price spike.⁠Travel and leisure shares retreated ​1.9 per cent with shares of airlines including Wizz leading ​declines as higher oil prices weighed.Mitchells & Butlers fell 5.1 per cent after the pub group reported flat third-quarter ‌like-for-like sales, citing the adverse impact on ​its food business from the ongoing heatwave.Takeover target EasyJet rose 2.7 per cent despite the airline’s third-quarter profit slumping 70 per cent as the Iran ​war led to volatile fuel prices and made travellers wary, though earnings ​beat analysts’ estimates and the carrier indicated somewhat clearer skies heading into peak summer. EuropeTech stocks slipped, led lower by Netherlands incorporated STMicroelectronics, which dropped 17.7 per cent to €49.97 after the chipmaker forecast third-quarter revenue with a midpoint slightly ​below market expectations. Dutch peer BE Semiconductor dropped 7.3 per cent after its second-quarter results.Nestlé tumbled nearly 8 per cent in Zurich after reporting that high coffee and cocoa prices weighed on its first half earnings, ⁠resulting in its biggest one-day drop since July 2002.Finnish forestry group ​Stora Enso reported a quarterly operating profit below market expectations, sending its shares down about 8.5 per cent.New YorkUS shares were trading at multi-week lows in early afternoon trading, as disappointing early Big Tech earnings ‌revived concerns about heavy AI spending, while another jump in oil prices added to inflation worries.The tech-heavy Nasdaq led losses, briefly hitting its lowest level in over two months. Second-quarter results from Google parent Alphabet and Tesla, the first of the so-called Magnificent Seven megacap companies to report this season, failed to impress investors.Shares of Google’s ⁠parent fell after the results did little to reassure investors as attention shifted to its higher spending plans and its first ever ‌cash ‌burn.Tesla dropped after reporting negative free cash flow for the second quarter for the first time in more than two years.Other megacap stocks ⁠also weakened. Investors will closely watch capital spending plans from ​major technology companies reporting next week, as questions grow over whether massive AI investments ​can deliver returns strong enough to justify elevated valuations.Defence giant Lockheed Martin rose after lifting 2026 sales and profit forecasts.Thermo Fisher Scientific jumped as the medical equipment maker raised its annual profit forecast after beating estimates for ​second-quarter results. – Additional reporting: Reuters