European shares close lower as ASML warns US tariffs cloud outlook

By Sukriti Gupta, Medha Singh and Shashwat Chauhan

(Reuters) -European shares closed lower on Wednesday, weighed down by semiconductor-related stocks after the world's biggest chip-making equipment supplier ASML warned that U.S. tariffs were increasing uncertainty around its outlook for 2025 and 2026.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.2%, though it was well off intraday lows by the close. The technology sub-index was the worst hit, down 2%.

Shares in ASML slumped 5.2% and were the biggest weight on the benchmark index.

Also exerting pressure on global chip stocks, Nvidia said on Tuesday it faced a $5.5 billion charge related to its most advanced chip available for sale in China as the U.S. attempts to keep ahead in the AI race.

Semiconductor companies including ASM International, BE Semiconductor, Soitec, Infineon and STMicroelectronics fell 1.3% to 3.2%.

The trade war waged by U.S. President Donald Trump pushed the European benchmark to a one-month low last week, with investors now turning their focus to the earnings season to gauge the fallout.

"The volatile and chaotic market reactions seen over the past few days show that the noise introduced in the first few months of Donald Trump's mandate have driven investors to overreact," said Mabrouk Chetouane, head of global markets strategy at Natixis Investment Manager

"The prospect of escalation and the announced end of the globalisation dynamic are making investment decisions difficult, as the apparent absence of 'safe haven' is blurring the usual risk-off pattern."

The outlook for European corporate earnings has worsened on rising uncertainty caused by the tariffs, with analysts expecting companies to report a 3% drop in first-quarter profit, a deeper decline than the 2.2% drop expected just a week ago, according to data compiled by LSEG.

UK's Bunzl was the biggest decliner in the STOXX 600 index, tumbling 25.6% after the business supplies distributor cut its 2025 forecast and paused its share buyback programme.

While losses in broader tech stocks weighed on the benchmark index, the oil and gas sector helped mitigate some losses, up 1.2% and tracking higher crude oil prices.

Heineken gained 5% after the world's second-largest brewer by global volumes beat first-quarter sales estimates and maintained its annual guidance.

In the lead-up to the European Central Bank's latest policy decision, a final reading of euro zone consumer inflation for March showed inflation rose 2.2% year-on-year.

Markets widely anticipate a 25-basis-point rate cut from the central bank on Thursday.

(Reporting by Sukriti Gupta, Medha Singh and Shashwat Chauhan; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)