Chip sell-off pulls European stocks back from one-week high
The Stoxx 600 benchmark dips 0.1% to 635.01 points at the close
Europe's Stoxx 600 slipped 0.1% to 635.01 points on Tuesday, retracting from a one-week high, as chip stocks faced a sharp sell-off. This overshadowed optimism from lower oil prices. The benchmark closed down 0.1 per cent to 635.01 points. London's FTSE 100 fell 0.06 per cent, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 were down 0.07 per cent each.
The decline ends a two-day winning streak for the Stoxx 600, highlighting investors' sensitivity to changes in AI sentiment. Reports of China's CXMT making progress in chip design raised competition concerns and negatively impacted chip stocks worldwide. David Morrison, a senior market analyst at Trade Nation, noted that investors used the news as an excuse to reduce exposure to AI-related companies.
ASM International, a computer chip equipment maker, saw the biggest decline at 6.3 per cent, followed by Soitec, a French chip materials company, which dropped about 6 per cent. Oil prices fell, offering some relief as traders considered supply risks following attacks on Saudi Arabia and planned additional diesel shipments from Russia.
However, the Middle East conflict fueled inflation worries in the energy-importing region and reduced the attractiveness of riskier equities. European equities are currently balancing resilient corporate earnings with rising borrowing costs, according to Lauren Hyslop, an investment manager at Mattioli Woods. The chemicals sector led sectoral gains with a 2 percent climb, while the aerospace and defence index fell 1.7 per cent.
Technology stocks declined 1.6 per cent, and luxury stocks dropped 0.6 per cent after LVMH reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter sales due to deteriorating consumer sentiment in China. Givaudan, a fragrance and flavor maker, rose 9.4 per cent after its third-quarter organic sales exceeded expectations. Nokia fell 3.1 per cent after agreeing to sell its Enterprise Campus Edge business to private equity firm Aurelius.
On Tuesday, British recruiter Michael Page returned to profit growth after four years of declines, while Bellway warned of lower home sales this fiscal year due to rising mortgage rates and cost pressures.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- European stocks close mixed thepeninsulaqatar.com
