European stocks fell on Wednesday, following a global sell-off amid growing concerns about excessively high valuations of technology companies.
The European Stoxx 600 index fell by 0.4% to 568.16 points, and the German DAX index dropped by 0.7% to 23,768.18 points.
Britain’s FTSE index fell 0.1% to 9701.64 points, and France’s CAC index dropped by about 0.4% to 8033.39 points.
European technology companies led the losses, with the Stoxx 600 Technology Index falling by about 1.2% after a sharp sell-off in US technology stocks during Tuesday's session.
The weak sentiment in European markets today reflects the anxiety prevailing in US and Asia-Pacific markets, amid fears of a bubble forming in highly valued artificial intelligence and technology stocks.
Nasdaq futures fell overnight, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped below 50,000 points amid a broad sell-off of artificial intelligence stocks.
Sentiment declined further yesterday after the heads of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley warned investors of a possible market correction over the next two years.
Today's schedule is packed with European corporate earnings reports, with Novo Nordisk shares opening 4.5% lower before rebounding 2% higher, after the Danish company announced quarterly net profits of 20 billion Danish kroner ($3.1 billion), in line with analysts' expectations.
In contrast, BMW shares fell 1.5% after the company reported earnings before interest of €2.3 billion for the third quarter, in line with estimates.
Investors are also awaiting the Swedish central bank's interest rate decision today, along with new data on German factory orders, UK new car sales, and European purchasing managers' indices.
