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* Siemens marks best day in 13 months
* German DAX index supported by strong results
* AstraZeneca up on strong sales forecast
(Updates to market close)
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Ambar Warrick
Feb 10 (Reuters) - European shares ended slightly lower on
Thursday as rising bond yields and weak results from France's
Atos dampened the tech sector, although positive Linde and
Siemens earnings along with improving trends for travel stocks
helped limit broader losses.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.2% lower,
with the heavyweight technology sector among the top
drags.
Tech stocks sank 1.1%, deepening losses after strong U.S.
inflation data created space for a more hawkish Federal Reserve
and pushed up sovereign yields across the globe.
Losses in Atos, which slid 4.5%, also weighed on
the tech sector. The IT consultancy firm took total writedowns
of 2.4 billion euros ($2.74 billion) in the second half of 2021.
"Technology stocks suffered the biggest blow as underlying
inflationary pressures remain strong and support expectations
for hotter reports over the next month or two," said Edward
Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Still, gains in economically sensitive sectors helped avert
wider setbacks in European shares. Travel and leisure
and chemicals led regional gains.
Easing COVID-19 mandates in the United States sent positive
cues to travel stocks, which rose 1.4% and were the best
performers for the day. Chemical stocks rose 1.2% on positive
earnings from U.S.-German firm Linde.
Shares of the world's largest industrial gas firm jumped
3.0% after it said it was targeting 10%-13% growth in adjusted
earnings per share (EPS) in 2022, after reporting
better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.
A positive fourth-quarter earnings season has helped the
STOXX 600 recoup some of its losses following a sharp
tech-driven rout at the beginning of the year.
Shares of Siemens jumped 4.7%, marking their best
one-day percentage gain in nearly 13 months, after the
engineering and technology group said it was seeing
"extraordinary" order intake from its customers.
European healthcare stocks were flat. AstraZeneca
jumped 3.4% as the drugmaker forecast higher 2022 sales
and posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit.
Pernod Ricard fell 0.7%, weighing on blue-chip
euro zone stocks. The French spirits group forecast
strong sales growth in its 2022 fiscal year, but flagged a
slightly softer start to the Chinese lunar holiday.
Credit Suisse tumbled 6.6% after warning of weak
2022 earnings as it ended last year with a quarterly loss of
$2.2 billion.
Unilever slid 1.3% as it warned of a hit to profit
margins this year and ruled out big acquisitions.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shailesh Kuber and Mark Heinrich)
