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STOXX 600 off 1

Sept 4 Reuters European stocks hit a twoweek low on Wednesday, as global markets were rattled by concerns of an imminent slowdown in the United States and weakness in the Chinese economy.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 index fell 1, with all major European markets down between 0.7 and 1. The STOXX volatility index rose to the highest since Aug. 9.

The losses tracked an overnight selloff in Wall Street39;s main indexes, all of which recorded their biggest daily percentage declines since early August, with sentiment weakened by weak manufacturing data.

China39;s manufacturing activity sank to a sixmonth low in August, weighing on luxury stocks in Europe such as LVMH Holdings, Richemont and Christian Dior.

Fresh worries about the health of the global economy are gripping markets, said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

We39;ve got another snapshot from the services industry in China. They disappointed again with new order growth easing off and that39;s added to the pessimism to some extent and also obviously the big tech wobble is causing concern.

Despite the selling pressure, European equities were 7.5 higher for the year as prospects of lower borrowing costs in 2024 have kept the markets afloat.

On the day, semiconductor companies were the…