Europe midday: Stocks mixed as tech sector struggles
European stocks were mixed at lunchtime on Wednesday, with the tech sector under pressure after a warning from a major US player, while UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson paused his Brexit bill.
At 1156 BST, the Stoxx 600 was 0.1% lower at 394.34, the German Dax rose 0.2% to 12,783.73 and France's CAC 40 fell by 0.4% to 5,634.42. Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% to 7,242.67.
American semiconductor and integrated circuit manufacturer Texas Instruments missed revenue expectations and posted weak fourth quarter guidance on Tuesday, warning of a slowdown in the industry.
Rafael Lizardi, chief financial officer at TI, said: "Our sense is that customers are just far more cautious than they were certainly a year ago, but even 90 days ago, and many of them talk about the caution."
The news sent European peers such as STMicroelectronics, Dialog Semiconductor and Infineon Tech lower.
Meanwhile, in the UK, MPs on Tuesday voted in favour of Johnson's Brexit bill but the Prime Minister put the legislation on hold after lawmakers rejected his plans to have the bill pass through the House of Commons in just three days.
For now, attention has turned to Brussels to see if the EU grant an extension to the current 31 October deadline, with Downing Street indicating that the government will push for a general election if the extension is granted.
IG analyst Joshua Mahoney said: "For markets at least, there is a feeling that a Boris Johnson driven no-deal scenario is less likely than ever. However, with the threat of a Tory/Brexit Party coalition in the event of an election, a no-deal scenario remains a possibility.
"Given the threat of the EU’s arch nemesis Nigel Farage gaining a foothold into negotiations, it looks likely that the EU will grant a short extension that incentivises another push for this deal rather than a general election."
Among individual stocks, PSA Peugeot Citroen rose after reporting an increase in third-quarter revenues, though the French carmaker warned that it anticipates automotive market declines of 1% in Europe, 5% in Latin America and 7% in China.
Pandora surged after analysts at Carnegie upgraded the Danish jeweller's stock from 'sell' to 'hold'.
Norwegian financial services provider Storebrand was in the green after its third-quarter profits exceeded expectations despite declining from NOK 853m (£72.3m) to NOK 700m.
Swedbank was the top faller on the Stoxx 600 after reporting a larger-than-expected fall in third-quarter net profit as costs jumped due to expenses associated with an investigation into the Swedish bank's alleged involvement in money laundering.
Gjensidige Forsikring fell after reporting a drop in third-quarter profits as the Norwegian insurer stuck by its full-year guidance.
Finnish tyre producer Nokian Renkaat was lower after it warned that full-year profits will miss expectations due to weak demand.