European stocks fell, affected by the weak profits of US technology companies

European stocks fell on Friday, weighed down by losses in technology stocks, after disappointing overnight earnings for their major US counterparts reignited concerns about global economic demand and the impact of rising interest rates.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.5 percent by 0812 GMT.

Nevertheless, the index is heading for weekly gains, thanks to the strong rise on Thursday, as the European Central Bank’s message of sticking to monetary tightening failed to disappoint investors’ hopes that the global interest rate hike cycle is nearing the end.

The technology sector index fell 0.6 percent, and the decline was led by a drop of nearly 2 percent in the share of Infineon, a supplier of Apple, while the real estate sector fell 1.5 percent.

Shares of US technology giants Amazon, Apple and Alphabet fell between 5 and 6 percent, hit by disappointing earnings.

Shares in the French drugmaker Sanofi plunged 4.7% after expectations of moderate growth in profits for 2023.

Dutch navigation and digital mapping company TomTom jumped 9.4% after raising its forecast for 2023 following better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue.