Tech wrecks the party

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets

By Rae Wee, Correspondent

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Markets in Europe were set for a dour opening on Wednesday, after a slump on Wall Street pushed Asian shares into the red, with technology stocks leading the decline.

Recently launched Amazon artificial intelligence processors that aim to tackle Nvidia and the chips made by the other hyperscalers such as Microsoft and Google are shown at an Amazon lab in Austin, Texas, U.S., July 19, 2024. REUTERS/Sergio Flores/File Photo

While there was no immediate trigger, analysts pointed to a confluence of factors, such as doubts over the lofty valuations of tech heavyweights and President Donald Trump's growing influence over the sector.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is looking into the government taking equity stakes in Intel as well as other chip companies in exchange for grants under the CHIPS Act that was meant to spur factory-building around the country, sources told Reuters.

The move comes on the back of other unusual deals Washington has recently struck with U.S. companies, including allowing AI chip giant Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to China in exchange for the U.S. government receiving 15% of those sales.

The government's intervention in corporate matters has worried critics who say Trump's actions create new categories of corporate risk and that a bad bet could mean a hit to taxpayer funds.

"This U.S. state/Presidential creep into tech, and the wider private sector, is unhealthy as it threatens to erode margins and dent demand/topline," said Mizuho's head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan Vishnu Varathan.

Asia's tech-heavy indexes in Taiwan and South Korea slid 2.6% and 1.7%, respectively, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures shed 0.7%. Nasdaq futures were down 0.5%.

Apart from the tech gloom, traders in London will be waking up to UK inflation figures, where expectations are for headline consumer prices to have picked up slightly in July on an annual basis.

Inflation in Britain remains the highest of any major advanced economy and is around one percentage point more than in the United States or the euro zone.

Any upside surprise would prove a headache for the Bank of England, with economists polled by Reuters expecting the central bank to cut interest rates by a quarter-point once more this year and then again in early 2026.

Elsewhere in markets, the New Zealand dollar tumbled on Wednesday after the central bank cut rates and flagged further reductions in coming months as policymakers warned of domestic and global headwinds.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand said the economy had stalled in the second quarter, and lowered its projected floor for the cash rate to 2.55%, from 2.85% forecast in May.

Graphics are produced by Reuters.

Graphics are produced by Reuters.

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