European shares slip as Asia factory activity falters

(Reuters) – European stocks slipped on Tuesday as weak factory activity data from Asia and some disappointing earnings stalled a rally in markets that had pushed several regional indexes to multi-year highs recently.

The pan-European index dipped 0.1% by 0714 GMT, with miners and real estate among the top decliners.

Asia’s factory activity shrank in July, private surveys showed, a sign slowing global growth and weakness in China’s economy were taking a toll on the region’s fragile recovery. Euro zone factory surveys are due later in the day.

Among companies that reported, DHL Group (ETR:) fell 3% after the freight forwarder reported a slump in quarterly earnings as high inflation, the war in Ukraine and the ongoing energy crisis weighed on consumer demand and freight rates.

In UK, HSBC Holdings (LON:) climbed 2.1% after the lender raised its key performance target, while BP (LON:) gained 2.2% after the energy giant boosted its dividend by 10%.

Fresnillo (LON:) tumbled 8.4% with the miner retaining its 2023 forecast.