Shares of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) declined 1.1% on Friday, closing at 7,502 pence. This marked the stock's third straight weekly loss, with a total decline of approximately 8% over the period.
AI Disruption Fears Resurface
The sell-off was driven by renewed market concerns about the potential for artificial intelligence to disrupt established data and workflow companies. Investor sentiment soured following the release of a new plug-in for Anthropic's Claude AI and heightened caution over the scale of capital expenditure by major technology firms on AI infrastructure.
Market analysts note a growing divergence. "This is not a vote against AI," one strategist observed, but rather investors distinguishing between companies that enable AI and those whose business models may be vulnerable to it. The sentiment shift reflects a market that is "no longer tolerating spending for spending’s sake," according to a fund manager.
Corporate Actions and Outlook
Amid the decline, LSEG continued its share repurchase program, buying 256,419 shares on February 5 at an average price of 7,533.05 pence. These shares are slated for cancellation, a move typically aimed at boosting earnings per share.
Traders are now focused on whether the pressure on data stocks will persist when markets reopen on Monday. The broader FTSE 100 index managed a 0.6% gain on Friday, supported by banking stocks, even as data and analytics shares lagged.
The key near-term event for LSEG will be its webcast for preliminary fiscal year 2025 results, scheduled for February 26. The presentation will be led by CEO David Schwimmer and CFO Michel-Alain Proch.