European shares tumble as global equity rout amplifies
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STOXX 600 drops 2.7%
France's AXA gains after deal talks with BNP Paribas
Tech index slides 6.1%, banks index off 4.3%
STOXX fear gauge touches highest level since March 2023
Updated at 1600 GMT
By Pranav Kashyap and Shashwat Chauhan
Aug 2 (Reuters) -Europe's STOXX 600 fell close to 3% on Friday as global equity markets ran into turbulence after a U.S. jobs report exacerbated worries of an economic slowdown in the world's biggest economy, with financials and tech the worst hit.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX dropped 2.7% to 497.85 points, hitting an over three-month low.
Most European sub-indexes traded lower, with the technology sector .SX8P falling 6.1%,its biggest one-day decline since October 2020, tracking a sell-off on Wall Street. .N
Global equity markets were rattled after data showed the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to near a three-year high of 4.3% in July amid a significant slowdown in hiring, heightening fears the labor market was deteriorating and potentially making the economy vulnerable to a recession.
"This was a bad news report for the market and will continue the growth scare that has been roiling equities lately," said Lara Castleton, U.S. head of portfolio construction and strategy (PCS) at Janus Henderson Investors.
"Equities selling off should be seen as a normal reaction, especially considering the high valuations in many pockets of the market. It's a good reminder for investors to focus on the earnings of companies going forward."
A STOXX fear gauge .V2TX hit an over one-year high of 24.52 points.
The financial sector .SXFP lost 5.2%, while banks SX7P shed 4.3%, extending declines from the previous session when the sector was hit by downbeat earnings and prospects of global monetary policy easing.
Lower rates could weigh on interest margins, a key source of income for lenders.
Global equity markets were hit hard in the previous session following a dismalreading in U.S. manufacturing activity on Thursday, which plunged to an eight-month low in July, dampening hopes of a soft landing for the economy.
A handful of defensive stocks, companies which tend to provide consistent dividends and stable earnings regardless of the state of the overall stock market, were the rare winners.
Individual heavyweights such as consumer staples majors Unilever ULVR.L and Nestle NESN.S and healthcare firms AstraZeneca AZN.L and Sanofi SASY.PA gained between 0.3% and 1.3%.
Among other movers, Dutch specialty chemicals makerIMCD IMCD.AS added 6.7% after beating estimates on second-quarter EBITA.
French insurer AXA AXAF.PA was up 1.4% after BNP Paribas BNPP.PA said it is in exclusive talks with the company to acquire its AXA Investment Managers arm for 5.1 billion euros ($5.50 billion).
Meanwhile, Switzerland'sannual inflation rate held steady at 1.3% in July, in line with analysts' expectations, encouraging bets that the central bank could lower borrowing costs again next month.
European shares sold off sharply in the last two sessions https://tmsnrt.rs/3LMFFf3
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Sonia Cheema and Sharon Singleton
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