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(Sharecast News) - European shares made a strong start on Tuesday despite a heavy tech sell-off in Asia overnight amid persistent concerns over the actual strength of the artificial intelligence sector.
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 was up 0.52% to 634 at 0719 GMT with all major bourses higher.
In Asia, investors were growing increasingly concerned about rising competition from Chinese memory-chip maker ChangXin Memory Technologies and the sustainability of the sector's elevated margins.
Sentiment was further hit by concerns over elevated bond yields, which have raised questions over the economics of the vast spending programmes underpinning the AI boom. Analysts said investors were becoming less willing to pay premium valuations for future growth as financing costs remain high.
"The sell-off drama has been concentrated in Asia, with South Korea's Kospi plunging by around 6% and Japan's Nikkei falling by more than 2% as semiconductor stocks sold off," said Wealth Club analyst Susannah Streeter.
"With further interest rate rises a possibility, there are also fresh niggles of worry about the huge costs of staying ahead. Tech giants are borrowing billions to fund research and develop new models, and retail investors are also leveraging their bets through loans, which have been helping to support valuations to some extent."
In equity news, tech stocks were all under pressure after the Asian sell-off with Infineon, STMicro, ASM, BE Semiconductor and Nokia all lower.
Givaudan shares jumped as the Swiss flavours and fragrances group posted a third quarter update.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
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