Europe midday: Shares turn red as tech valuation worries, Iran attacks weigh

(Sharecast News) - European shares gave up morning gains and slipped into the red at midday on Wednesday amid as a surprise attack by Iran on military targets in the Gulf sent the oil price higher and another tech sell-off in Asia overnight hit sentiment.

The benchmark Stoxx 600 index fell 0.08% to 646 at 1208 BST with major bourses mixed. Brent crude jumped 5.5% to $88.51 a barrel after Iran had launched multiple ballistic missiles at US forces in the Middle East, ending the recent pause in fighting.

Asian markets remained under heavy pressure on Wednesday as the rout in semiconductor stocks deepened, with South Korea's benchmark index sliding a further 8.3%. The KOSPI's decline reflected sharp losses in its heavyweight chipmakers, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, which together account for a significant portion of the market's overall weighting.

SK Hynix dropped 9% despite reporting a sixfold jump in quarterly profit, as investors continued to unwind positions across the sector following a global correction in AIrelated names. Samsung Electronics, which is due to publish its earnings on Thursday, fell 6% in early trade, adding to the negative tone across regional technology shares.

The weakness followed another difficult session for US chip stocks, which dragged the Nasdaq lower by 1% on Tuesday. Traders said sentiment remained fragile amid concerns that recent earnings upgrades had run ahead of fundamentals, leaving the sector vulnerable to sharp reversals.

In equity news, Sopra Steria surged after the French IT group raised its fullyear revenue growth target.

Gerresheimer jumped after the company said it was selling Centor US Holding and its global Primary Packaging Plastics business to an affiliate of funds advised by Apax Partners for a combined enterprise value of around �1.5bn.

Technology stocks were also being hammered, with ASM International down 4% despite an upbeat forecast. US giants Microsoft and Meta will report after US markets close, with investors focused on evidence of returns on their AI investments.

Kering jumped 13% after secondquarter sales at Gucci fell less than expected.

Alten surged by a fifth as the French IT and engineering group's second-quarter results smashed expectations.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com