European shares fall as recession fears eclipse upbeat earnings

(Reuters) - European shares dropped on Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, as recession fears resurfaced in the United States after downbeat data offset initial euphoria from solid earnings by tech giants Microsoft and Alphabet.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.4% by 0710 GMT, dragged lower by technology shares with a 1.3% slump.

ASM International fell 10.0%, the biggest loser on the index, after the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker reported a drop in first-quarter orders, citing softening market conditions, despite an estimate-beating revenue.

Oil and gas shares were up 0.7%, tracking oil prices.

Earnings from Microsoft Corp and Google's parent Alphabet Inc beat expectations, but recessionary worries in the world's largest economy kept investor sentiment fragile.

Shares of Standard Chartered Plc rose 0.6% after the British bank's first-quarter pretax profit jumped 21%, beating expectations.

Saab climbed 1.9% as the Swedish defence equipment maker reported a rise in operating profit for its first quarter and signalled solid demand.

Swiss banking software company Temenos jumped 8.8% after it reported first-quarter earnings above consensus.

Investors will closely monitor commentary from a host of ECB policymakers due to speak later in the day for more clues on the central bank's monetary tightening path.

(Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)