European Stocks Slip Again With Tech Under Pressure

European shares slipped in early deals on Monday, with technology stocks falling the most after worries about tighter monetary policies triggered a bruising sell-off in global equities last week.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.4% by 0814 GMT, with Asian stocks also under pressure as investors braced for a hawkish update from the Federal Reserve this week. [MKTS/GLOB]

Market participants were also concerned about a possible Russian attack on Ukraine with the U.S. State Department pulling out family members of its embassy staff in Kyiv.

Tech stocks fell 1.2%, hitting fresh 14-week lows, after growth stocks on Wall Street were pummelled by prospects of rising rates last week.

There were bright spots among individual stocks, with Renault jumping 3.8% as the French carmaker, Japan’s Nissan Motor Co and Mitsubishi Motors Corp planned to triple their investment to jointly develop electric vehicles, sources told Reuters.

Helping limit losses in UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100, Unilever climbed 4.6% after reports that Trian Partners, Nelson Peltz’s activist hedge fund, has built a stake in the consumer goods company.

Meanwhile, the telecom sector got a boost as Vodafone rallied 4% after Reuters reported the company and Iliad were in talks to strike a deal in Italy that would combine their respective businesses.