LONDON: Heavy selloffs in tech stocks hammered equity markets Thursday, tracking a plunge on Wall Street as disappointing earnings caused traders to panic that a long-running rally in the sector may have been overdone.
Paris tumbled more than two percent nearing the half-way stage after Tokyo closed down 3.3 percent, as a stronger yen added to the downward pressure on Japanese exporters.
“Earnings season jitters have really taken hold,” noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
“The risk-off sentiment permeating through financial markets has done little to help traditional havens such as the dollar and gold, with both losing ground alongside equities.”
Oil prices slid nearly two percent Thursday.
European shares end lower as earnings whirlwind disappoints
Shares in French-Italian chip maker STMicroelectronics plunged 14 percent and Infineon Technologies shed more than six percent.
Nearly all sectors suffered, however, with Renault crashing over nine percent and Gucci owner Kering down seven percent.
Among the rare risers was consumer goods giant Unilever, which jumped nearly six percent on well-received earnings.
Global stocks had pushed ever higher this year – with New York’s three main indexes hitting multiple records.
Tech titans such as Google parent Alphabet and chipmakers Nvidia and TSMC have been boosted by an explosion of interest in all things linked to artificial intelligence.
The rallies have been helped by blockbuster profits and upbeat outlooks, causing investors to pile in with cash owing to a fear of missing out.
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