Europe's tech sector rose 0.9 per cent, with chipmakers STMicroelectronics, AMS and ASM International up between 0.9 per cent and 3.7 per cent.
Still, euro zone stocks were up just 0.1 per cent and UK's FTSE 100 down 0.1 per cent, with gains for both the euro and sterling hurting the exporters. Investors waited for UK lawmakers to vote on a bill which the European Union has told London to scrap, raising pessimism over the chances of a Brexit deal being reached before the December 2020 deadline.