STOXX 600 hits one-month low as bleak earnings weigh, tech stocks slump
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Europe's blue chips dragged by Melexis, Qorvo, AMD's downbeat updates
Hazy capital outlook weighs on UBS shares
ASMI jumps as guidance hike, Q3 beat suggest no slowdown
Euro zone economy grows quicker than expected, but outlook remains weak
Updates with closing levels
By Ankika Biswas and Pranav Kashyap
Oct 30 (Reuters) -Europe's main stock index fell 1% to its lowest in over a month on Wednesday, as technology and mining stocks led a broader market decline in the aftermath of disappointing corporate earnings and some key economic data.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX closed 1.3% lower, having hit its lowest level since mid-September during the day, on track for its worst monthly performance in a year.
Benchmark indices on the major regional bourses including those of Germany .GDAXI, France .FCHI, Spain .IBEX and Italy .FTMIB dropped 0.7% to 1.2%.
The tech sector .SX8P, which includes chipmakers, fell over 2%, with analysts noting negative read-across from downbeat forecasts by Belgium's largest semiconductor-supplier Melexis MLXS.BR and U.S. chip firms Qorvo QRVO.O and AMD AMD.O.
Shares in French IT consulting group Capgemini CAPP.PA fell 6% after cutting its 2024 revenue forecast for the second time this year.
The basic resources sector .SXPP snapped a three-day winning streak, with Anglo American AAL.L shedding 4% after BHP's BHP.AX chairman said the company has moved on from acquiring the British miner.
UBS Group's UBSG.S shares dropped 4.5% as investors focused on uncertainty about regulatory changes, the broader outlook and how much spare capital the bank would have going into next year.
This, coupled with a 2.5% fall in Amundi AMUN.PA following the asset manager's expectations of a higher-than-previously-expected tax surcharge, dragged the financial services index .SXFP 2% lower.
Meanwhile, the euro zone economy grew faster than expected last quarter but the outlook was weak on threats of oversized tariffs from a potential Trump presidency in the United States, escalating trade tensions with China and muted consumer confidence.
The biggest surprise came from Germany's third-quarter GDP data which showed Europe's largest economy unexpectedly skirted a recession, but inflation rose more than expected in October.
"Overall, we see little in these data to support market expectations for a 50-bps rate cut in December... Our forecast remains for a 25-bps cut," said Pantheon Macroeconomics' chief euro zone economist Claus Vistesen.
The ECB cut interest rates by 25 bps earlier this month, acknowledging slowing inflation and a worsening economic outlook.
The neck-and-neck race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5 also kept investors on their toes.
Back on the earnings front, Campari CPRI.MI slumped 19% after the Italian spirits group significantly missed third-quarter earnings expectations.
Chip-making equipment supplier ASM International ASMI.AS jumped 5.4% after raising its 2025 forecast range, while Standard Chartered STAN.L rose 4% after the lender's third-quarter profit more than doubled year-on-year.
Swiss industrial company Georg Fischer GF.S jumped 16% on plans to sell its machining solutions business to United Grinding Group.
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Emelia Sithole-Matarise
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