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Belgian region grapples with forever chemical scandal
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New-look Australia focused on LA 2028 at swimming worlds
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China urges global consensus on balancing AI development, security
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David's century sparks Aussies to T20I clincher over WIndies
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Death toll rises in Thai-Cambodian clashes despite ceasefire call
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China prodigy takes on swimming world aged 12
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UN gathering eyes solution to deadlocked Palestinian question
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Polls open in Taiwan's high-stakes recall election
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'Alien' lands at Comic-Con
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Top footballers afraid to speak out against playing too many games: FIFPro chief
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Top US Justice official questions Epstein accomplice for 2nd day
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Cambodia calls for ceasefire with Thailand: envoy to UN
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Raducanu and Fernandez beat the heat to reach DC Open semis
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US stocks end at records as markets eye tariff deadline
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Trump, EU chief to meet Sunday in push for trade deal
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Fake AI photos of Trump with Epstein flood internet
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Ponting says 'no reason' why Root cannot top Tendulkar's run record
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NFL players, employees fined for selling Super Bowl tickets: reports
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World's smallest snake makes big comeback
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Trade on agenda as Trump lands in Scotland for diplomacy and golf
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UN chief blasts 'lack of compassion' for Palestinians in Gaza
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Trump administration expected to say greenhouse gases aren't harmful
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Hamilton suffers unprecedented spinning knockout in Belgian GP sprint qualifying
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European powers urge end to Gaza 'humanitarian catastrophe'
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Messi, Alba suspended over MLS All-Star no-show: league
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RB's Permane returns as team boss at Belgian GP two years after sacking
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Trump says '50/50 chance' of US-EU trade deal
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Top US Justice official meets with Epstein accomplice for 2nd day
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Mekies makes retaining Verstappen his Red Bull priority
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Pogacar exits Alps with Tour stranglehold as Arensman edges white-knuckle win
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Piastri takes pole for Belgian GP sprint race ahead of Verstappen
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UK, France, Germany say Gaza 'humanitarian catastrophe must end now'
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Stock markets mark time as Trump puts EU-US trade deal at 50/50
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Pogacar exits Alps with Tour stranglehold as Arensman takes stage
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France defends move to recognise Palestinian state
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Trade on agenda as Trump heads to Scotland for diplomacy and golf
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France's top court annuls arrest warrant against Syria's Assad
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How might Trump's tariffs hurt Brazil?
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Rubiales forced kiss could drive Spain on in Euro 2025 final: England's Toone
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Trump says Hamas 'didn't want' Gaza deal as talks break down
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Tour de France prankster gets eight-month suspended term for crossing finish line
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Root climbs to second on all-time Test list as England dominate India
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Stock markets stall as Trump puts EU-US trade deal at 50/50
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UK starts online checks to stop children accessing harmful content
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Root up to third on all-time Test list as England dominate India
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Piastri outpaces Verstappen in opening practice at Belgian GP
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Cambodian evacuees sheltering in temple pray for end to Thai clashes
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French car dealer charged over Takata air bag injury
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Iran meets European powers amid threats of UN sanctions snapback
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Meta to ban political ads in EU due to bloc's 'unworkable' rules
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Stocks slide as US consumer confidence tumbles, tech slumps
Global stock indices slid on Tuesday after data showed US consumer confidence slumped, while US tech stocks took a further beating.
The so-called Magnificent Seven stocks -- high-performing and influential US tech firms which dominate the markets -- helped drive US stocks to records at the end of last year -- fell nearly three percent on Tuesday and have now fallen more than 10 percent since their December peak.
The correction in the Magnificent Seven stocks helped drag the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index down two percent in morning trading.
The worst hit among them was Tesla, which suffered a nine-percent drop as investors digested disappointing European sales and chief executive Elon Musk's aggressive foray into politics.
"The once mighty tech sector in the US is no more," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
She noted that the best performing sectors in 2025 do not include tech, but rather transport, tobacco, healthcare and gold.
Meanwhile shares in Nvidia, whose chips are prized for generative AI applications, fell more than three percent ahead of it releasing results on Wednesday.
Traders will be keenly awaiting its outlook on AI chip sales.
It will be Nvidia's first earnings release since DeepSeek upended the AI industry at the start of this year by unveiling a high-performing chatbot that it said it developed at a fraction of the cost of its Western rivals and with less powerful chips.
That led traders to reassess the massive investments planned by Western AI firms and their stock valuations.
Nvidia's stock fell through its 50-day moving average in trading on Monday.
Meanwhile US consumer confidence in February saw its largest monthly decline since August 2021, deepening a recent slump in optimism in President Donald Trump's second month back in office.
"Consumer confidence continues to come off its election-fueled sugar high from November," said eToro US investment analyst Bret Kenwell.
"Economic uncertainty remains elevated, whether that's around tariffs or more US-centric data like inflation or retail sales," he added.
In recent days Trump has reiterated his intention to slap import tariffs on key US trading partners Canada and Mexico.
Over the weekend he signed a memo calling for curbs on Chinese investments in industries including technology and critical infrastructure, healthcare and energy.
Tariffs would likely cause a surge in inflation, slowing growth and reducing the chances of further interest rate cuts.
Europe's main indices finished mixed after having been solidly higher earlier in the session.
Asian markets ended lower.
Markets were responding to an "unease over looming US tariff policies and their potential ripple effects on global growth and inflation," said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Bitcoin fell back below $90,000 for the first time in a little more than a month as the optimism over expected Trump deregulation for the crypto market ebbs away.
The sector has also been hit by the recent $1.5 billion hack of Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, representing the biggest crypto theft in history, as well as a memecoin scandal in Argentina.
- Key figures around 1630 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 43,356.75 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.1 percent at 5,915.05
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 2.0 percent at 18,895.04
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,668.67 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 at 8,051.07 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 22,410.27 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.4 percent at 38,237.79 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.3 percent at 23,034.02 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,346.04 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0499 from $1.0468 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2651 from $1.2623
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.86 from 149.76 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 82.99 pence from 82.91 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.5 percent at $68.94 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.1 percent at $72.50 per barrel
burs-rl/phz
L.Maurer--VB