European shares dip as financials sour Apple-led tech rally

LONDON - 2 August 2017: Semiconductor firms' shares were a bright spot in early deals on Wednesday in a lackluster European market, weighed down by a fall among mining stocks and banks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index as well euro zone bluechips fell 0.1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent.

Tech stocks were the strongest sectoral performers with Apple suppliers Dialog Semiconductor and AMS jumping 5.7 percent and 3.3 percent respectively after iPhone optimism lifted Apple shares to a record high overnight.

The rise in tech was not enough to outweigh falls among mining firms and oil stocks, which declined on the back of weaker metals and oil prices.

Disappointing results from Societe Generale and Commerzbank were a drag on euro zone banks. The sector index fell 0.4 percent. Natixis jumped around 4 percent, however, on the back of higher profits for the period.

Well-received earnings boosted shares in gambling firm William Hill, which rocketed more than 7 percent to the top of the STOXX, while results also spurred sizeable moves in Hugo Boss and Lufthansa.

Around halfway through the results season, second quarter earnings in Europe are expected to increase 13.4 percent year on year, or 11.2 percent excluding the energy sector, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.