The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.6% at 636.40

European shares ​dropped on Friday, with technology shares tracking worldwide sector weakness, while Zalando declined after Germany’s ‌financial regulator launched a probe into the retailer’s accounts.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.6% at 636.40 at 0832 GMT, pulling back from a record-high close in the previous session, and was on track for a weekly gain.

Shares of Zalando slipped ​4.3% after BaFin launched an investigation into the online fashion retailer’s 2025 financial statements, citing evidence the ​company breached accounting regulations. The broader retail sector shed 0.2%.

Meanwhile, uncertainty around the international ⁠technology sector prevailed, with investors focused on a surge in memory chip costs as a result of strong ​AI-driven demand. Asian equities declined sharply overnight, while U.S. stock market’s tech-heavy Nasdaq futures shed nearly 1%.

In Europe, the ​tech sector slid 1.4%.

Chipmakers Infineon and STMicroelectronics dipped 3% and 2.4%, respectively. On the other hand, semiconductor equipment makers BE Semiconductor and ASML declined 2.5% and 1.1%, respectively.

AI equipment maker Schneider Electric dipped 1.8%.

The realities of rising memory costs are being felt ​across other sectors, said Craig Cameron, portfolio manager at Templeton Global Investments.

The market has largely expected this kind ​of shift and clearly we’ve reached a point where, from a consumer and smartphone and PC-type perspective, it just doesn’t ‌make any ⁠sense to keep prices flat when memory is becoming such a large portion of costs, he said.

Telecom companies Ericsson and Nokia were also down 1.4% and 2.3%, respectively.

The benchmark was set for modest weekly gains, as easing oil supply concerns following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz helped Brent Crude retreat to pre-war levels, while ​Europe’s smaller tech exposure helped ​cushion the losses seen ⁠in regional equities.