Europe: Shares pull back after Fed-inspired rally; Lundbeck slumps

[MILAN] European shares fell in early trading on Friday, pulling back from two-week highs hit in the previous session following the US Federal Reserve's decision to push back on its next rate increase.

By 0708 GMT, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was 0.4 per cent lower, retreating a touch after having closed at its highest level since Sept 9 in the previous session.

The index is down more than 5 per cent so far this year.

Lundbeck slumped 16.6 per cent, the biggest Stoxx 600 faller, after the Danish drug maker's highly anticipated idalopirdine Alzheimer's drug failed in a late-stage study.

Miners and banks were the biggest sectoral fallers with the Stoxx Basic Resources and the Stoxx Bank indexes down 1.3 and 0.7 per cent respectively.

REUTERS