European stocks opened lower on Wednesday (November 5th), reflecting a global downturn amid growing concerns over sky-high tech valuations.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index was down 0.4% at 8:20 a.m. in London (3:20 a.m. ET), with most major bourses and sectors in the red.

The UK's FTSE 500 Index opened 0.1% lower, Germany's DAX 0.7% lower, France's CAC 40 0.4% lower, and Italy's FTSE MIB 0.3% lower.

European tech companies led the decline, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index down 1.2% following a sharp sell-off in U.S. tech stocks on Tuesday.

The sluggish sentiment seen in European bourses on Wednesday came amid a similar picture in US and Asia Pacific markets overnight, as investors appeared increasingly concerned about the high valuations of AI-related stocks and technology companies, fearing a bubble.

Overnight, futures contracts tied to the tech-dominated Nasdaq declined as investors continued to grapple with the next direction for large-cap tech stocks. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei 225 plunged below 50,000 overnight amid a broader decline in Asian markets as investors fled AI-related stocks.

Market sentiment was also hit yesterday when the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley warned investors to brace for a market downturn over the next two years.

Wednesday was a busy day for earnings reports in Europe.

Novo Nordisk shares started the session down 4.5% before reversing course and trading 2% higher. The Danish drugmaker posted a net profit of 20 billion Danish kroner ($3.1 billion) in its third-quarter earnings report, in line with analysts' expectations of 20.12 billion Danish kroner.

BMW shares fell 1.5% on Wednesday morning, as the German automaker's third-quarter earnings before interest reached 2.3 billion euros, in line with analysts' expectations.

Sweden's Riksbank will announce its latest interest rate decision on Wednesday, and on the data front, we'll see the latest German factory orders, UK new car sales, and the European purchasing managers' index (PMI). (alg)

Source: CNBC