London: European shares declined at the opening on Friday and were on track to end the week with a slight loss. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.2 percent to 623.10 points and is heading for a weekly decline of around 0.5 percent.

According to Emirates News Agency, technology stocks led the losses, falling 2 percent and giving up part of the gains made during a strong rally in which the sector rose by more than 33 percent over the past two months. This increase marked the highest among sectors in the STOXX 600 index. Shares of European semiconductor companies dropped by more than 4 percent, while stocks of artificial intelligence equipment companies fell by around 1 percent.