Gloom over Wall Street technology giants Amazon.com and Apple spread to Europe on Friday, where the sector led markets lower as investors juggled more earnings reports and data showing consumer prices at a 2008 high.
The Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP,
fell 0.5% to 472.62, while the German DAX
DAX,
declined 0.8%, the French CAC 40 declined 0.3%
PX1,
and the U.K. FTSE 100
UKX,
fell 0.3%.
Economic data showed annual inflation in the eurozone rose 4.1%, which was the fastest pace since July 2008, as higher energy costs, supply constraints and strong demand drove up prices. That’s as economic growth in the region also grew at a faster-than-expected pace, up 2.2% in the third quarter.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde pushed back against expectations for an interest-rate hike by next year at Thursday’s meeting, where the bank left rates and policy unchanged. But markets seem unwilling to believe her, with the yield on 10-year German bunds
TMBMKDE-10Y,
up 5 basis points to -0.081%, as it also tracked rising global bond yields.
Decliners included beer maker Anheuser-Busch InBev
BUD,
and German business software group SAP
SAP,
down 2.4% and 1.6% respectively.
The tech sectcor was pressured after Apple
AAPL,
quarterly sales missed for the first time since 2018 and Amazon.com
AMZN,
reported an earnings plunge and disappointing holiday forecast.
Opinion: Apple and Amazon are struggling, so investors may want to look to these tech stocks instead
Shares of STMicroelectronics
STM,
STM,
dropped over 1% after the chip manufacturer was downgraded to neutral at Citigroup, who said their positive view laid out from July has played out for now. The company reported an earnings and revenue miss on Thursday.
Daimler
DAI,
shares gained 1.5% after the German automaker said third-quarter earnings rose despite the semiconductor shortage that affected production and sales. For 2021, the company stuck to its forecast of group revenue and EBIT significantly above prior-year levels.
EssilorLuxottica
EL,
shares climbed 2.3% after the luxury eyewear group reported a rise in third-quarter and lifted its annual revenue growth outlook.
Another big gainer was BBVA
BBVA,
BBVA,
up 7% after the Spanish banking giant reported a third-quarter profit on lower provisions, and launched a $4.1 billion (€3.5 billion) share buyback program.
This post was originally published on Market Watch
