London: European shares slid yesterday , with the mining sector hit by renewed concern over China and after disappointing earnings figures from US technology giants Apple, Yahoo and Microsoft.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 1.50 percent to close the day at 6,667.34 points, with mining companies hit hard by stubborn worries over Chinese demand.
In the eurozone, the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.47 percent to 5,082.57 points and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 dropped 0.72 percent to 11,520.67 points.
In foreign exchange, the euro slid to $1.0890 from $1.0942 late in New York on Tuesday, as dealers awaited a second Greek parliamentary vote on its vast reforms-for-cash bailout deal.
London’s mining sector faced fierce selling pressure, with sentiment dented by sliding metal prices. Anglo American slumped 5.6 percent to 813.50 pence. BHP Billiton tumbled 5.7 percent to 1,180 pence, and Rio Tinto lost 3.6 percent to 2,502.5 pence.
“The London market has been hit hardest by the mining sector, which is taking its cues from the financial turbulence in China,” said analyst David Madden at trading firm IG.
“The wheels are starting to come off in China, and if Beijing is having trouble keeping its stock market in check, it does not inspire confidence in its position as the biggest importer of minerals in the world.”
London-listed ARM Holdings, whose microchip designs are used to help power Apple’s iPads, saw its share price dive 6.6 percent to 970 pence on the Apple results, despite an upbeat outlook and dividend hike from the British chipmaker.
Overnight, Apple posted a 38 percent jump in quarterly net profit, but its shares slid as analysts had expected more, while revenue forecasts also weighed on investor sentiment. The US tech giant’s profit soared to $10.7bn on surging iPhone sales in the quarter that ended on June 27, from $7.7bn a year earlier.
Microsoft announced a net loss of $3.19bn in the past quarter, blaming a hefty writedown on the smartphone business it acquired from Nokia.
Elsewhere, Yahoo revealed it had swung to a loss of $22m in the second quarter, but revenues grew as the Internet pioneer refocused its efforts on mobile and other growing sectors. That sent Wall Street shares down at the opening bell, where they stayed all morning.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index had fallen 0.79 percent to stand at 5,167.22 points in midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.46 percent to 17,837.62, while the broad-based S&P 500 gave up 0.29 percent to 2,112.96.
Shares in Apple tumbled 5.2 percent to $123.97, Microsoft’s stock dropped 3.3 percent to $45.73, while Yahoo shed 0.81 percent to $39.41.
“UK and European equities have followed the wider global market lower after both new and old technology results disappointed,” said Rebecca O’Keeffe, investment head at broker Interactive Investor.
Asian markets mostly retreated following the negative lead from Wall Street, where sentiment was also hit by poor earnings news from IBM and United Technologies.
Elsewhere, the British pound edged higher after the Bank of England (BoE) said its nine-member monetary policy committee had voted unanimously earlier this month to hold interest rates.
The pound was at $1.5613 in late European trading, compared to $1.557 late on Tuesday.
BoE governor Mark Carney had indicated last week that Britain’s record-low 0.50 percent lending rate could start to rise at the turn of the year. AFP
