European tech stocks slump in worst fall for seven years on Apple woes

European technology stocks have been hit by their biggest quarterly drop since 2011, after production worries for Apple caused a global industry wobble.

Stocks on the pan-European stoxx 600 tech index fell more than 1.8 per cent in trading this morning, hitting its lowest level since February 2017 and charting a quarterly loss of more than 14 per cent.

The technology sector has lost its place as the top-performing sector in Europe, now having fallen more than eight per cent this year as industries such as oil and healthcare take centre-stage.

Today's slide has largely been caused by instability on Wall Street, as every major US technology stock yesterday reported a fall after investors reacted nervously to news about Apple's production lines.

The Californian tech giant was reported to have cut production across all three of its latest iPhone models, as lower-than-expected demand for its higher-price products takes its toll. Apple's share price closed down almost four per cent last night.

The other members of the so-called FAANG group – Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google – also fell, with Facebook, Amazon and Netflix all charting losses of more than five per cent by the end of trading. The grouping is now down more than 20 per cent from its yearly peak.

Wall Street's FANG index, which also includes technology stocks such as Tesla, Nvidia and Baidu, lost more than four per cent yesterday. Chipmaker Nvidia has been the worst-hit stock in the sector in recent days, with its share price having lost more than 50 per cent in value since its peak on Apple supplier fears.

In the US, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell more than three per cent yesterday, while the S&P 500 lost 1.6 per cent. 

Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said: "As things stand, the outlook for global equity indices appears bleak and we could easily witness further falls, especially for US markets after their oversized gains over the years.

"Even the European indices, which have underperformed their US counterparts, could fall further before they potentially bottom out."

"Part of the problem is that investors no longer expect an average growth in profit," added Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index. 

"If the sales are not double digit and spectacular – as is the case in with the latest iPhone – the disappointment quickly translates into a sell off in shares. Given how high these stocks have risen over the last year, the sell off then triggers chart signals which only provoke more and faster selling."