The DAX 40 index in Frankfurt extended its decline on Thursday afternoon, dropping by over 1% to fall below the 24,400 mark. This downturn came in the wake of a renewed global sell-off in the technology sector, driven by concerns that aggressive investments in artificial intelligence (AI) might hurt profitability. Meanwhile, investors processed the latest monetary policy announcements from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, which both maintained interest rates at their current levels, aligning with market expectations. Additionally, the ongoing earnings season in both Europe and the U.S. captured the market's focus. Among individual stocks, Rheinmetall experienced a significant drop of up to 8%, poised for its steepest single-day decline in more than ten months, with brokers also pointing to weak preliminary forecasts for 2026 as a contributing factor. Hensoldt and Renk saw decreases of 1% and 0.2%, respectively, as geopolitical tensions appeared to ease. Conversely, Siemens lost 0.9% after reversing earlier gains, while SAP and Infineon Technologies both performed well, each climbing over 2%.