Technology stocks lead European stock market declines after Apple downgrade
European shares were shaken on Wednesday in the aftermath of Wall Street’s New Year’s sell-off, with the region’s technology stocks falling under significant pressure after a downgrade of Apple sent the sector tumbling.
Frankfurt’s DAX index DX:DAX fell 1% as miners struggled with concerns about slowing economic growth, while London’s FTSE 100 UK:UKX fell 0.8% as it celebrated its 40th anniversary.
CAC 40 FR:PX1 in Paris fell 1.4% on train maker Alstom ALO.
It fell 7% after Barclays lowered its target price for the train maker to €8 from €8.5. Luxury brands were also under pressure, and LVMH MC
and Kering KER,
It fell about 3% after UBS analysts warned of a “weak earnings season” for the sector.
Amsterdam AEX Index NL:AEX includes chip equipment manufacturer ASML ASML;
and ASM International,
It echoed declines in the Asian and earlier U.S. sectors, down 2% and nearly 3% respectively.
Additionally, French-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics STMPA;
fell 2.4% and its German peer Infineon Technologies IFX fell 2.4%.
I lost almost 3%.
The sector has been seen as open to some gains, with recent good performances including ASML up 16.5% over the past three months and ASM International up 82% over the past 12 months. And this was triggered by the downgrade of Apple AAPL.
On Tuesday, Barclays switched from neutral to underweight, sparking a broad sell-off in technology stocks.
ASML had already floated its shares on Tuesday following a Bloomberg report that the United States had pressured ASML to cancel shipments of some machines to China.
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said: “Technology stocks with rich valuations are vulnerable to slight economic fluctuations or rising yields, and not everyone is participating in narrow market highs driven by AI hype. “He said. .
Elsewhere, shares of Airbus AIR;
It fell 2% after the plane maker said it was in talks to acquire Atos’ ATO.
The cybersecurity division values the business at up to 1.8 billion euros ($1.97 billion), including debt.
A notable top performer was the UK minnow C4X Discovery C4XD.
Shares soared nearly 50% after the biotech group received an $11 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca AZN.
