EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Lose Ground Again As Tech Shares Struggle

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

ASML shares flop after Intel snub

European stocks lost ground Wednesday, with semiconductor company ASML Holding NV and brewer Carlsberg AS among the largest decliners, as investors waited for clues to whether U.S. policy makers are ready to start raising interest rates.

The Stoxx Europe 600 shed 0.3% at 342.31, with only the telecom sector moving higher.

Technology shares were the worst performing, with ASML (ASML.AE) shares losing 4.9% after Intel Corp. (INTC) said it won't use lithography technology made by the Dutch chip-equipment company to produce its 10-nanometer chips, according to media reports (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-16/intel-licenses-arm-technology-in-move-to-boost-foundry-business).

Also near the bottom of the index, Carlsberg A/S shares flopped 4% after the Danish brewer's first-half sales slipped to 31.24 billion kroner (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/carlsberg-net-profit-up-25-despite-fall-in-sales-2016-08-17), coming in less than an estimate of 31.56 billion kroner in sales. Net profit climbed 25%.

The pan-European index on Tuesday fell 0.8% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-pull-back-but-miners-show-strength-2016-08-16), with only the commodity sectors advancing. A loss Wednesday would be the benchmark's fourth in a row.

Fed minutes: Investors will find out what U.S Federal Reserve policy makers had to say about interest rates at their last on Wednesday. Minutes from the Fed's July meeting are slated for release at 2 p.m Eastern Time, or 7 p.m. London time, after the close of European trade.

Indexes: Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.7% to 10,604.08, and France's CAC 40 was down 0.6% to 4,432.06.

The FTSE 100 shed 0.1% to 6,885.45, while Italy's FTSE MIB lost 1.2% to 16,589.66. Spain's IBEX 35 dropped 0.7% to 8,560.10.

The euro was buying $1.1266 compared with $1.1279 late Tuesday.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 17, 2016 05:36 ET (09:36 GMT)

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