Tech, trade fears weigh on European shares

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LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - European stocks tumbled onTuesday as investors entered the second quarter in a febrileatmosphere of trade tensions and mounting pressure on bigtechnology companies.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.7 percent, whileGermany's DAX declined 0.8 percent, with industrials,consumer staples and financials the biggest weights.

The tech sector dropped 1 percent, weighed bychipmakers after an overnight report that Apple plans to replaceIntel chips in Macs with its own.

The index has fallen 8 percent in the past three weeks asanxiety grew over big tech companies with the focus onFacebook's use of data, and regulation of Amazon.

Reports of Apple increasingly going down the "insourcing"route have dented shares in Apple suppliers around the world,most notably Europe's Dialog Semiconductor which hasshed more than 60 percent in the past year.

On Tuesday ams led the falls, down 2.8 percent, whileSTMicro declined 2.3 percent and Infineonfell 1.7 percent.

Risk appetite was poor across the board, as Europeaninvestors followed U.S. and Asian investors to the exit afterChina retaliated against U.S. tariffs.

Outside the tech sector, food services group Sodexowas the worst-performing on the STOXX, down 3.8percent after Goldman Sachs cut the stock to "neutral", citingcompetition and cost inflation.

Acquisition news also continued to move the European market.

Eurofins Scientific shares fell 2.9 percent, theworst performers on the STOXX, after the firm acquired LabFrontier in South Korea.

Basic resources and oil & gas stocks were a rare brightspot, making gains as metals prices rose.(Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Kit Rees)