Europe open: Equity markets fall as tech stocks suffer
European stocks were lower on Wednesday morning as the tech sector was under pressure after a warning from a major US player, while UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson paused his Brexit bill.
At 0852 BST, the Stoxx 600 was 0.3% lower at 393.51, as the German Dax dropped by 0.2% to 12,729.52 and France's CAC 40 fell by 0.5% to 5,627.13. Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 rose by 0.2% to 7,225.77.
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.
Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said: "France is unhappy about any delay, Germany says they want to know why they should extend. The truth is the EU will extend, the question is the length as that depends on the purpose. As we said last night after the vote, with Parliament agreeing to the WAB in principle, the EU may only back a short delay to get the deal agreed.
"However the Benn Act specifies three months and therefore that would tend to be the default - individual EU countries would need to argue why it should be shorter. European leaders may be uncomfortable about what could lie ahead if they enable an election."
Among individual stocks, PSA Peugeot Citroen dropped despite reporting an increase in third-quarter revenues, with the French carmaker warning 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 jeweler’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.
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.