European shares fall as healthcare, financials weigh

(Reuters) - European shares slipped on Tuesday, pulling back after robust gains in the last session, as falling healthcare and financial stocks weighed while investors focussed on key inflation data across the continent due later in the day.

Europe's premier index, the STOXX 600 , was down 0.3% as of 0810 GMT after climbing to a more than two-week high on Monday following a report that suggested U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may opt for a less aggressive tariff strategy.

Trump later denied the report, adding to the uncertainty.

On the day, healthcare was amongst the top losers early on, falling 0.8% with index heavyweight Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO ) down 2.1%, while AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN ) fell 1.5%.

Insurance eased 1.2%, while banks dipped close to 1%.

Focus will be on euro zone inflation reading due later in the session. French consumer prices, meanwhile, rose less than anticipated in December.



Sodexo (EPA:EXHO ) slid 6.1% after the French food caterer missed market expectations on first-quarter organic revenue.

Next (LON:NXT ) advanced 2.7% after the British clothing retailer lifted its annual profit outlook for the fourth time in six months.

Source: Investing.com