Europe open: Stoxx shrugs off Iran attack, Asia sell-off to post gains

(Sharecast News) - European shares were higher amid an earnings dump at the open despite a surprise attack by Iran on military targets in the Gulf sending the oil price higher and another tech sell-off in Asia overnight.

The benchmark Stoxx 600 index rose 0.19% to 648 at 0823 BST with all major bourses higher. Brent crude jumped 3.3% to $86.88 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 first half results.

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.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com