MARKET REPORT: Fall wipes £260bn off three US tech titans

More than £260bn has been wiped off the value of the world’s three biggest companies amid fears that US relations with China and Taiwan could deteriorate.

Apple shares fell more than 2 percent, while Microsoft fell 1 percent and Nvidia fell more than 6 percent, hitting investors in Britain whose savings and pensions are exposed to the U.S. tech titans.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq fell 2.8 percent and the S&P 500 dropped 1.4 percent.

The losses came amid reports that US President Joe Biden is seeking to curb sales of chipmaking technology to China.

And Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has signaled that if he wins the November election he could dilute U.S. commitment to Taiwan, as he wants the country to pay the U.S. to protect it against China.

U.S.-listed shares of Dutch chipmaking equipment supplier ASML fell more than 10 percent, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, fell 6.4 percent.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: “The prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House presents the risk that he could take an even tougher stance to stop China obtaining foreign technology.”

In Britain, the FTSE 100 rose 0.28 percent, or 22.56 points, to 8,187.46, while the FTSE 250 fell 0.57 percent, or 120.45 points, to 21,093.34.

UK inflation remained at 2 percent last month, in line with the Bank of England’s target.

But the latest figures are unlikely to spur policymakers into immediate interest rate cuts.

In Europe, Adidas gained 4.4 percent in Bavaria after raising its annual forecast following a strong second quarter.

The German sports company’s revenue rose 11 per cent in the three months to the end of June, while profits almost doubled to £290m.

Animal genetics company Genus warned that weaker demand from China and Brazil would hit its profits and fell 10.8 percent, or 206 pence, to 1,698 pence.

It was a choppy session for blue-chip miners. Antofagasta came under pressure after the Chilean copper miner warned its annual output would be at the lower end of its 670,000 to 710,000 tonne range, sending the shares down 6.1 percent, or 130 pence, to 19.98 pence.

Higher gold prices lifted London-based miner Fresnillo up 0.8 percent, or 5 pence, to 630 pence, but Hochschild Mining fell 1.8 percent, or 3.4 pence, to 185.4 pence.

Bargain hunters snapped up Burberry after a dismal week for the luxury fashion brand, which slumped to its lowest level since 2010 after issuing a profit warning and scrapping its dividend.

But the shares, which have fallen 50 percent this year, rose 4.4 percent, or 31 pence, to 735.6 pence.

Hvivo reported a strong half year as the clinical trials specialist moved its offices to London, gaining 4.5 percent, or 1.25 pence, to 29.25 pence.

Smiths Group will pocket around 117 million pounds after the engineering firm sold 1.2 million shares in a California company that makes catheters, syringes and resuscitators, and fell 0.9 percent, or 15 pence, to 1,736 pence.