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Tech stocks slip ahead of Nvidia ( NVDA ) earnings report

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Banking stocks drag down STOXX index

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UK inflation drop fuels Bank of England rate cut

expectations

(Updates prices, adds analyst comments and details)

By Anastasiia Kozlova and Johann M Cherian

Nov 19 (Reuters) - European shares hovered near a more

than one-month low on Wednesday, as tech valuation concerns kept

investors cautious ahead of a high-stakes earnings report from

AI poster-child Nvidia ( NVDA ).

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.2% to 560.65 by

0910 GMT and was close to levels last seen on October 1 that it

touched in the previous session.

The index fell 1.7% on Tuesday, its biggest one-day drop in

more than three months, on worries that the global tech rally,

seen for much of the year, had turned into a potential bubble.

European tech stocks declined 0.4% on Wednesday,

ahead of Nvidia's ( NVDA ) report that could either stoke or

soothe investor worries about lofty valuations.

AI equipment maker Schneider Electric traded

marginally lower, while Siemens Energy rose 1.7%

after Tuesday's losses.

"It's a cocktail of everything weighing heavily right now

from anxiety over when AI will start bringing revenue inside the

circle from outside, to fading hopes that the Federal Reserve

might cut interest rates in December," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a

senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank.

"Obviously, if there is any disappointment (from Nvidia ( NVDA )), it

would be the latest nail in the coffin for the AI mood."

Banking stocks , which have been the biggest

annual gainers this year, fell about 0.6% and were the biggest

drags on the STOXX.

Investors are also awaiting the U.S. labour market report,

due on Thursday, at a time when Fed policymakers are divided on

the central bank's monetary policy verdict next month.

In the UK, inflation fell to 3.6% in October from 3.8% in

September, its first drop since May and in line with forecasts,

cementing expectations that the Bank of England could cut

interest rates in December.

Among individual stocks, Kering lost 3.2% after

the luxury company's Chief Executive Luca de Meo said a return

to growth will require reducing its reliance on struggling

flagship Gucci, further scaling back its store network and

chasing more synergies, according to a memo seen by Reuters.

Germany's Fraport fell 3.3% after UBS downgraded

the stock to "sell", while Danish cable solutions provider NKT

jumped 13% after reporting quarterly results and 2030

forecasts.

Travel retailer WH Smith fell 1.1% after CEO Carl

Cowling announced his departure following the findings of an

independent review into the company's North American accounting

practices.