European stocks hit by losses in defensives; chipmakers rise

(Reuters) – European stocks slipped on Wednesday, weighed down by defensive sectors, as investors remained cautious about a surge in the number of global coronavirus cases.

The pan-European STOXX 600 <.stoxx>, which had closed at a near two-week high in the previous session, slid 0.5%, with food and beverage <.sx3p>, telecoms <.sxkp>, and healthcare stocks <.sxdp> falling between 0.7% and 0.8%.

Many U.S. states have reported record daily increases in COVID-19 infections in recent weeks. A media report that European Union countries are prepared to bar entry to Americans also raised worries of further restrictions that could derail an economic recovery.

The top decliner on STOXX 600 was Sweden’s Evolution Gaming Group AB , which fell 7.4% after it offered to buy NetEnt AB for 19.6 billion Swedish crowns ($2.12 billion). NetEnt’s shares jumped 30%.

German real estate company Leg Immobilien fell 3.2% after plans to launch a capital increase through stock and debt offering.

Austrian sensor maker AMS rose 4.3% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to “overweight” from “neutral”, while Dialog Semiconductor jumped 6.8% after raising its quarterly revenue outlook.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)