European tech stocks have taken a knock this morning as weaker than expected results from the likes of Microsoft, IBM and, most significantly Apple impact the market.
iPhone maker Apple saw billions wiped from its value after it failed to hit sales expectations.
The tech giant sold 47.5 million iPhones in the third quarter, up 35% on the same period last year – but this was still short of analysts’ expectations of 48.8 million.
Yesterday Apple said it expected to see revenues of between $49bn (£31bn) and $51bn in its fourth quarter, potentially $2bn short of the $51.1bn forecast by analysts.
As a result Asian and European markets have taken a tumble which has had an impact on other tech stocks.
One of the largest declines on the pan-European index was seen by ARM Holdings PLC, which designs the basic chip technology found in more than 95% of all smartphones, including the iPhone. Its shares fell by more than 3%.
Shares in other chip makers and technology companies across Europe – such as Germany’s Dialog Semiconductor PLC and Infineon Technologies AG, and Paris-listed STMicroelectronics NV – also slipped near the bottom of the Stoxx Europe 600.
So far the Europeans subindex of technology stocks is down close to 1%.