Europe: Shares stumble from six-week highs after Chinese GDP data

[LONDON] European shares slipped on Monday from six-week highs after China's fourth-quarter growth figures confirmed a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy with 2018 its weakest year since 1990.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.3 per cent by 0825 GMT, in line with Germany's exporter-heavy DAX, while Britain's FTSE 100 eked out a 0.1 per cent gain thanks to strong oil stocks.

With US markets closed for Martin Luther King Day, trading was likely to stay thin, but company news kept investors busy.

German chemicals firm Henkel, maker of Persil detergent and Schwarzkopf shampoo, was the biggest STOXX 600 faller, down 5 per cent after announcing increased investments in new brands, marketing and digitalisation.

REUTERS