Europe midday: Shares slump as US tech sell-off set to continue

(Sharecast News) - European shares were sharply lower on Tuesday after tech stock sell off on Wall Street, while oil prices also fell as the US issued a sanctions waiver for Iran.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.95% at 1147 BST will all major bourses lower. Germany's DAX fell 1.21%, the UK's FTSE 100 declined 0.37% a day after Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned, France's CAC 40 was 0.78% lower and Italy's MIB

US stocks finished mixed on Monday, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped into the red following earlier gains, with big losses from a number of heavyweight tech names hitting markets.

Stock futures were pointing to further falls on the tech-heavy Nasdaq later on Tuesday as investors fretted about the potential for US interest rate rises and debt-backed spending on AI.

New market entrant SpaceX continued its post-IPO slump, and Alphabet dropped after its artificial intelligence business lost a key figure to Anthropic. Other blue chips in the sector also ended lower, including Apple, Amazon.com and Microsoft.

Crude oil fell after the US waived sanctions on Iran for 60 days from Monday after the first talks to negotiate a permanent peace deal agreed a roadmap. The US Treasury also announced a waiver until 21 August on sanctions, allowing Tehran to sell oil and related products.

Brent crude crept above $77 a barrel in early London trading not far from the $72 level before the US and Israel launched their war of choice on Iran and Lebanon in February. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.26% to $73.67.

"That is positive news for headline inflation and consumers, but it is no longer enough to lift equities on its own. The market has already priced in much of the easy relief from lower oil; what matters next is whether peace negotiations actually translate into durable shipping normalisation and a final settlement," said Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group.

"Gold is also lower, reflecting reduced demand for traditional geopolitical hedges. But the Dollar is stronger against most major currencies, which shows that investors are not simply moving into a broad risk-on posture. Instead, the market is becoming more selective: fewer energy-shock fears, but more concern about rates, tech positioning and policy uncertainty."

On the economics front, the downturn in the eurozone private sector eased in June, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

S&P Global's flash eurozone composite output index rose to a three-month high of 49.5 from 48.5 in May. A reading above 50.0 indicates expansion, while a reading below signals contraction.

The flash services PMI business activity index printed at 48.9, also a three-month high, up from 47.7 a month earlier.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to a four-month low of 51.3 this month from 51.6 in May.

In equity news, shares in Signify tanked as the world's largest lighting company updated investors on its financial targets.

Bunzl gained as it boosted annual guidance following a stronger-than-expected start to the year.

Heineken rose after the brewer announced the appointment of Rafael Oliveira as its new chief executive officer and chairman of the board.

Oliveira will step down as CEO of coffee and tea company JDE Peet to join the Dutch brewer on October 1.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com