BUZZ — European AI — exposed stocks fall after hot US inflation fuels global selloff

(Adds analyst comments, updates share moves and milestones) * Shares in rate-sensitive European chip and other AI-exposed stocks fall sharply, tracking an overnight selloff in US and Asian markets * The STOXX tech index falls 2.6%, heading for its worst day since Julyand leading sectoral losses on the wider STOXX 600 index * The tech index is set for a second straight weekly loss and is down 4.8% so far this week * "The concern is not necessarily weakening AI demand, but whether heavily leveraged operators can continue financing aggressive expansion at increasingly expensive borrowing costs," Abed Jarad, analyst at mwb-research.com says * "For now, I see this primarily as a valuation reset rather than a fundamental deterioration," he adds * Sector heavyweight ASML, STMicroelectronics, BESI, Infineon and ASMI fall between 5% and 8% * Siltronic, Soitec, Aixtron, Technoprobe and AT & S are down between 6% and 9.5% * Other AI-exposed stocks such as Schneider Electric, Nokia, Legrand, ABB and Prysmian all slide between 3% and 5.1% (Reporting by Ozan Ergenay) ((ozan.ergenay@thomsonreuters.com)