Europe’s main stock markets retreated Wednesday following gains in Asia and Wall Street losses, with focus on shares in technology giants and a warning from US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell on interest rates.

Chinese tech firms stood out, with Alibaba shares rocketing after its chief executive said the e-commerce giant planned to ramp up spending on artificial intelligence.

Investors have enjoyed a months-long rally for equities that has pushed some markets to record highs, but the run-up took a pause Tuesday amid talk that the gains may have gone too far.

Another key driver has been expectations that the Fed will continue to cut US interest rates before the end of the year.

However, Powell cooled expectations with a warning Tuesday that cutting rates too aggressively risked stok

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