European stocks opened in the red on Friday as Asian markets fell on continuing worries over Chinese regulation of tech stocks.
The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 index was down 0.77% in early deals, with mining and tech stocks leading the losses. All major Continental bourses were lower.
Shares in Asia-Pacific fell again on Friday, heading for their worst month since March 2020, as volatile trading continued for Chinese tech stocks.
In equity news, Intertek shares fell 8.3% despite the company reporting a rise in first-half profits.
Italy’s UniCredit jumped after posting higher-than-expected net profit, and said late on Thursday it had embarked on formal talks with the government over the possible acquisition of rival Monte dei Paschi di Siena. Monte dei Paschi surged 9.6%.
French carmaker Renault jumped 3.3% after it forecast a full-year 2021 profit even as a global shortage in chips and rising raw material costs hampered car output.
British Airways-owner IAG fell 3.7% after it said summer capacity would rise to 45% of pre-pandemic levels but warned that significant uncertainty remained.
