US equity fund managers have begun cutting their exposure to technology stocks as the highly-rated sector falls out of favour with some investors following a long winning streak.
The FTSE 100 was down over 1% by 11am, with Hargreaves Lansdown leading the market lower after being downgraded by Morgan Stanley.
Facebook's share price fell as much as 5% in after-hours trading as the company announced a deal to buy chat application WhatsApp for some $19bn.
US stock exchanges halted all trading in companies listed on the Nasdaq on Thursday after a "serious" technical issue stopped it from quoting share prices accurately.
Shares in the US closed sharply lower overnight, with some indices hit by the worst one-day percentage falls since late June, as positive jobs data sparked fears of an earlier move to taper QE than expected.
The founder of online voucher company Groupon has been ousted after shares in the firm fell 24% in a single day.
Europe's leading equity markets took a beating yesterday as elections in Italy resulted in political deadlock.
Technology giant Apple saw shares dive 10% in after-hours trading, wiping $50bn off the market cap value, as its latest update to the market left analysts underwhelmed.