European stocks fell sharply at the open on Tuesday amid a global sell-off in the technology sector.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index had lost 1% by 8:07 a.m. London time. Technology companies and the basic-resources sector posted the steepest declines—their shares fell by at least 2.5%.
The drop in Europe was less severe than in some other global markets, where the sell-off hit chipmakers hardest. South Korea’s Kospi index fell by more than 9%, triggering a trading halt. This followed local media reports that SK Hynix is slowing the expansion of memory production for AI chips and shifting its focus to cheaper commodity DRAM memory.
European Momentum Has Lagged Behind the U.S. Breakout
On the macroeconomic front, investors are awaiting the release of eurozone PMI data.
Pressure also remains on shares of companies linked to precious metals after analysts continued to lower price forecasts. Deutsche Bank cut its metals price forecasts by as much as 22%. Fresnillo shares fell 6.2%.