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LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - European stocks tumbled on Tuesday as investors entered the second quarter in a febrile atmosphere of trade tensions and mounting pressure on big technology companies.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX fell 0.7 percent, while Germany's DAX .GDAXI declined 0.8 percent, with industrials, consumer staples and financials the biggest weights.
The tech sector .SX8P dropped 1 percent, weighed by chipmakers after an overnight report that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) plans to replace Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) chips in Macs with its own. index has fallen 8 percent in the past three weeks as anxiety grew over big tech companies with the focus on Facebook's use of data, and regulation of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Reports of Apple increasingly going down the "insourcing" route have dented shares in Apple suppliers around the world, most notably Europe's Dialog Semiconductor DLGS.DE which has shed more than 60 percent in the past year.
On Tuesday ams led the falls, down 2.8 percent, while STMicro STM.MI declined 2.3 percent and Infineon IFXGn.DE fell 1.7 percent.
Risk appetite was poor across the board, as European investors followed U.S. and Asian investors to the exit after China retaliated against U.S. tariffs.
Outside the tech sector, food services group Sodexo EXHO.PA was the worst-performing on the STOXX, down 3.8 percent after Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) cut the stock to "neutral", citing competition and cost inflation. news also continued to move the European market.
Eurofins Scientific EUFI.PA shares fell 2.9 percent, the worst performers on the STOXX, after the firm acquired Lab Frontier in South Korea. resources and oil & gas stocks were a rare bright spot, making gains as metals prices rose.