By 0710 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 had dropped 0.8%, with Germany’s traditionally trade-sensitive DAX down a full percentage point.

· Asian shares broke support and caved to a four-month low on Thursday, as concerns grew that the Sino-U.S. trade conflict was fast morphing into a prolonged technology cold war between the world’s two largest economies.

“Both the U.S. and China appear to be preparing for a prolonged period of trade conflict,” wrote analysts at Nomura in a note on the standoff.

“We think domestic pressures and constraints will drive both sides towards further escalation,” they warned. “Without a clear way forward during an intensifying 2020 U.S. presidential election, we see a rising risk that tariffs will remain in effect through end 2020.”

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan touched its lowest in four months and was last down 0.7%.

· Japan’s Nikkei dropped on Thursday after renewed U.S.-China trade tensions dragged down technology shares, while index-heavyweight SoftBank Group fell more than 5 percent.

The Nikkei share average ended 0.6% lower at 21,151.14.

Tech shares were sold heavily after media reports on Wednesday said the United States was considering sanctions on video surveillance firm Hikvision.

“Investors are worried that the U.S. may put restrictions on more companies in the future, not just Huawei and Hikvision,” said Takuya Takahashi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities. “If that happens, the market will grow more concerned that growth in a new industry such as 5G will be hampered.

· China’s blue-chip stock index dropped to a three-month closing low on Thursday, as investors dumped technology shares amid worries a growing number of Chinese firms in the hi-tech sector could bear the brunt of an escalating trade war with the United States.

The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 1.8%, to 3,583.96, the lowest closing level since February 22. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.4% to 2,852.52.

Technology shares led the decline, with an index tracking the sector down 3.5%.

Late Wednesday, Reuters reported the U.S. administration was considering Huawei-like sanctions on Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision over the country’s treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority.

Hikvision shares extended steep losses, slumping 5.8%. Another security equipment manufacturer Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co Ltd tumbled 4.6%.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC