Business
European shares ease as losses in energy, healthcare stocks weigh
European shares eased on Tuesday as heavyweight energy and healthcare stocks lost ground, while investors weighed the potential impact of a US government shutdown that could delay the release of the closely-watched monthly jobs data.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opened new tab slipped 0.2% to 554.7 points, though set for its third successive monthly gain and a more than 2% gain for the quarter.
Heavyweight oil and gas stocks dipped 0.8%, tracking declining oil prices. France's TotalEnergies and the UK's BP fell more than 1% each.
Healthcare stocks also shed 0.3%, with Denmark's Novo Nordisk and the UK's AstraZeneca down about 1% each.
On the economic data front in Europe, the UK economy grew 0.3% in the second quarter, French preliminary inflation stood at 1.1% in September and German retail sales unexpectedly fell in August. Britain's ASOS slid 11.4%.