European shares slip at open

European stocks fell at the open Wednesday after Wall Street losses and disappointing results from US technology giants Apple, Yahoo and Microsoft.

In initial trade, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index slid 0.69 percent to 6,772.19 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 dropped 0.81 percent to 11,511.19 points and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.70 percent to 5,070.67 compared with Tuesday's close.

Asian markets mostly retreated following the negative lead from Wall Street, where sentiment was also hit by poor earnings news from IBM and United Technologies.

Overnight, Apple posted a 38-percent jump in quarterly net profit, but shares slid as analysts had expected more, while revenue forecasts weighed.

The US tech giant's profit soared to $10.7 billion on surging iPhone sales in the quarter that ended on June 27, from $7.7 billion a year earlier.

Elsewhere in the sector, Yahoo revealed it had swung to a loss of $22 million in the second quarter, but revenues grew as the Internet pioneer refocused its efforts on mobile and other growing sectors.

Microsoft meanwhile announced a net loss of $3.19 billion in the past quarter, blaming a hefty writedown on the smartphone business it acquired from Nokia.

"UK and European equities have followed the wider global market lower after both new and old technology results disappointed," said Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at online stockbroker Interactive Investor.

"Since Google's performance last week, expectations had been running high that the sector would provide the momentum for further equity market growth.

"However, with Apple, Microsoft and Yahoo all failing to meet investor expectations, the outlook has paled amid concerns that prices in the sector have overshot."

Europe's equities had hit reverse Tuesday as volatile commodity prices and company results hit shares, with markets giving up some of the gains won over the previous nine trading days.

burs-rfj/boc