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Novo Nordisk, GSK lead health stock higher on upbeat sales

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AMD's results, forecast spark retreat in tech stocks

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Santander jumps on 10 billion euro share buyback plan

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Renault leads decline in auto stocks

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STOXX 600 down 0.1%

(Updates with morning prices)

By Nikhil Sharma

Feb 5 (Reuters) - European shares dipped on Wednesday,

as the rise in healthcare companies after Novo Nordisk's strong

earnings was overshadowed by losses in automobiles and

technology stocks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1% as

of 0930 GMT.

Novo Nordisk jumped 3.8% after the drugmaker posted a

better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit of $4.4 billion as

sales for its blockbuster drug Wegovy more than doubled.

GSK rose 5.3% after the British drugmaker also beat

fourth-quarter earning estimates and lifted its 2031 sales

target. GSK and Novo helped lift the healthcare index up

0.9%.

The technology index, however, fell 0.8% as chip

stocks came under pressure after Advanced Micro Devices's ( AMD )

quarterly earnings failed to impress investors and CEO

Lisa Su said data centre sales this quarter would be 7% lower

than the previous quarter.

"So again, that's tied into some concerns over the AI pace

of development and the particular valuations attached and the

growth expectations that are already baked in," said Russ Mould,

investment director at AJ Bell.

Chip equipment maker ASML slipped 1.1%, while

chipmaker Soitec was down 1.9%.

Automobile stocks reversed 1.6%. Renault

fell about 3%, with traders attributing the decline to a report

saying Japan's Nissan ( NSANF ) will call off merger talks with

rival Honda ( HMC ).

The markets were also confounded by U.S. President Donald

Trump's suggestion that the U.S. would take over the war-ravaged

Gaza Strip, turning it around to a "Riviera of the Middle East"

after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.

The STOXX 600 and other global indexes started the week on a

sour note after Trump's tariff threats but rebounded a day later

as the President's one-month pause on levies on Mexico and

Canada showed he was open to negotiations.

Trump, however, followed through with tariffs on China,

which retaliated in kind, although the fallout of that has been

limited on global stocks.

Among other stocks, Santander soared 7.4% after the

lender beat fourth-quarter profit estimates and announced a

share buyback plan worth 10 billion euros ($10.39 billion).

Munters slid over 9% to the bottom of the STOXX

after the Swedish maker of air treatment solutions reported what

analysts say were "mixed" fourth-quarter results.