STOXX 600 hits one-month low as bleak earnings weigh, tech stocks slump

reuters_tickers

By Ankika Biswas and Pranav Kashyap

(Reuters) -Europe’s main stock index fell 1% to its lowest in over a month on Wednesday, as technology and mining stocks led a broader market decline in the aftermath of disappointing corporate earnings and some key economic data.

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 1.3% lower, having hit its lowest level since mid-September during the day, on track for its worst monthly performance in a year.

Benchmark indices on the major regional bourses including those of Germany, France, Spain and Italy dropped 0.7% to 1.2%.

The tech sector, which includes chipmakers, fell over 2%, with analysts noting negative read-across from downbeat forecasts by Belgium’s largest semiconductor-supplier Melexis and U.S. chip firms Qorvo and AMD.

Shares in French IT consulting group Capgemini fell 6% after cutting its 2024 revenue forecast for the second time this year.

The basic resources sector snapped a three-day winning streak, with Anglo American shedding 4% after BHP’s chairman said the company has moved on from acquiring the British miner.

UBS Group’s shares dropped 4.5% as investors focused on uncertainty about regulatory changes, the broader outlook and how much spare capital the bank would have going into next year.

This, coupled with a 2.5% fall in Amundi following the asset manager’s expectations of a higher-than-previously-expected tax surcharge, dragged the financial services index 2% lower.

Meanwhile, the euro zone economy grew faster than expected last quarter but the outlook was weak on threats of oversized tariffs from a potential Trump presidency in the United States, escalating trade tensions with China and muted consumer confidence.

The biggest surprise came from Germany’s third-quarter GDP data which showed Europe’s largest economy unexpectedly skirted a recession, but inflation rose more than expected in October.

“Overall, we see little in these data to support market expectations for a 50-bps rate cut in December… Our forecast remains for a 25-bps cut,” said Pantheon Macroeconomics’ chief euro zone economist Claus Vistesen.

The ECB cut interest rates by 25 bps earlier this month, acknowledging slowing inflation and a worsening economic outlook.

The neck-and-neck race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5 also kept investors on their toes.

Back on the earnings front, Campari slumped 19% after the Italian spirits group significantly missed third-quarter earnings expectations.

Chip-making equipment supplier ASM International jumped 5.4% after raising its 2025 forecast range, while Standard Chartered rose 4% after the lender’s third-quarter profit more than doubled year-on-year.

Swiss industrial company Georg Fischer jumped 16% on plans to sell its machining solutions business to United Grinding Group.

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)