Europe midday: Shares down with luxury, tech stocks under pressure

European shares were lower on Wednesday with luxury and tech stocks under pressure while investors also digested the latest UK inflation data showing a fall below 2% for the first time in three years.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.34% at 518.82 points. Britain’s FTSE 100 outperformed with a 0.60% gain as inflation fell more than expected in September, likely ramping up the pressure on the Bank of England to get more aggressive with monetary easing

The annual change in the consumer price index (CPI) slowed to just 1.7% last month, down from 2.2% in August. This was well below the 1.9% expected by economists and the first time below the 2% mark since April 2021.

"Mainland European markets have opened on a somewhat downbeat tone following the US session that saw a tech sell off driven by the unexpected early release of earnings from Dutch manufacturing giant ASML," said Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.

"In a week that had started with Nvidia hitting fresh record highs that brought the market capitalisation up to a lofty $3.4 trillion, we have since seen the semiconductor stocks hit hard after ASML booked less than half the orders expected by the market."

In equity news, shares in luxury goods maker LVMH slumped after reporting a 3% fall in third-quarter sales. The news hit the sector, with rivals Kering, Burberry and Christian Dior all lower.

Whitbread gained as the Premier Inn owner targeted higher profits in the next five years after increasing its interim dividend and unveiling an extension of its share buyback by £100m.

Shares in ASML fell after the Dutch chip firm published financial results a day early, issuing disappointing sales forecasts.

Tecan slumped as the Swiss lab equipment maker cut earnings forecasts.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com