European shares fall in early deals

European shares dropped in early trading on Wednesday, led lower by technology stocks after disappointing results from Apple, as the quarterly earnings season gathered pace in Europe and on Wall Street. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.3 per cent at 1,591.53 points by 0837 GMT. It fell 1.1 per cent in the previous session. The STOXX Europe 600 Technology index shed 1.3 per cent, with chip designer Arm Holdings among those falling the most. It fell 3.7 per cent after the results from Apple, a major customer, despite posting a 32 per cent rise in second-quarter profit. Among mid-caps, German chipmaker Dialog Semiconductor tumbled 7 per cent, according to Reuters.