More than €310bn was wiped off the value of the three biggest tech titans in the world amid fears that US relations with China and Taiwan could turn sour, writes John Abiona.
Shares in Apple dropped more than 2pc while Microsoft fell 1pc and Nvidia was down more than 6pc – hitting investors whose savings and pensions are exposed to the US tech titans.
On Wall Street the Nasdaq fell 2.8pc and the S&P 500 was down 1.4pc.
The losses came amid reports US President Joe Biden is seeking to curb sales of chip-making technology to China.
And Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has signalled that should he win November’s election he could water down America’s commitment to Taiwan as he wants it to pay the US to protect it against China.
US-listed shares of Dutch chipmaking equipment provider ASML fell more than 10pc while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s largest contract chip maker, slumped 6.4pc.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: “The prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House presents the risk he might come down even harder to stop China from getting its hands on foreign technology.”
In Britain, the FTSE 100 rose 0.28pc, or 22.56 points, to 8187.46, while the FTSE 250 was down 0.57pc, or 120.45 points, to 21,093.34.
Inflation in the UK remained at 2pc last month and in line with the Bank of England’s target.
But the latest figures are unlikely to spur officials to make immediate interest rate cuts.
In Europe, Adidas gained 4.4pc in Bavaria after hiking its annual forecast following a strong second quarter.
The German sports firm’s revenues rose 11pc in the three months to the end of June while profits nearly doubled to €345m.
Genus, the animal genetics company, warned weaker demand from China and Brazil will hit profits and slumped 10.8pc, or 206p, to 1698p.
It was a topsy-turvy session for blue-chip miners.
Antofagasta came under pressure after the Chilean copper miner warned its annual production would be at the bottom end of its 670,000 to 710,000-ton range, news that knocked shares 6.1pc, or 130p, back to 1998p.
Higher gold prices lifted London miner Fresnillo up 0.8pc, or 5p, to 630p but Hochschild Mining fell 1.8pc, or 3.4p, to 185.4p.
Bargain hunters scooped up Burberry following a dismal week for the luxury fashion brand as it crashed to its lowest level since 2010 after a profit warning and scrapped its dividend.
But shares, which have plunged 50pc this year, rose 4.4pc, or 31p, to 735.6p.
Hvivo reported a strong six months as the clinical trial specialist moved offices in London, gaining 4.5pc, or 1.25p, to 29.25p.
Smiths Group will pocket around £117m after the engineering firm sold 1.2m shares in a California company that makes catheters, syringes and resuscitators – and slid 0.9pc, or 15p, to 1736p.
