BP boosts dividend after profit hits 14year high
Semiconductor stocks fall
Pelosi set to visit Taiwan despite China warningssources
STOXX down 0.6

Aug 2 Reuters European shares fell on Tuesday as weak global factory data fanned economic slowdown fears, while markets were on edge as U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was expected to visit Taiwan.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 slid 0.6 in morning trade.

Pelosi was set to visit Taiwan on Tuesday, three sources said, as the United States said it wouldn39;t be intimidated by Chinese threats to never sit idly by if she made the trip to the selfruled island claimed by Beijing. 

After the best month for Stoxx 600 in July, European equities are giving back some of those gains to kick off August suggesting the rally was slightly overdone, Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said.

Although Pelosi39;s visit could create a deeper strain between Beijing and Washington it is unlikely to result in actual military conflict.

Global markets were jittery, with MSCI39;s broadest index of AsiaPacific shares exJapan down 1.3, while U.S. futures pointed to a lower open.

In Europe, semiconductor stocks such as ASML Holding, ASM International, BE Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics fell between 0.6 and 3.6.

Most of the chip production happens in Asia. If you get a conflagration between China and the U.S., that39;s going to increase geopolitical uncertainty in that region, said Michael Hewson,…