China worries push European shares to one-week low, PMIs awaited

(Reuters) – European shares fell to one-week lows on Tuesday, as subdued economic data from China fuelled concerns about a feeble recovery, while investors looked to domestic data for clues on the European Central Bank’s monetary tightening plans.

The pan-European index was down 0.6% by 0709 GMT, its fifth consecutive session of losses.

China-exposed sectors such as luxury and construction & materials were among the top drags in Europe as data showed the country’s services activity expanded at the slowest pace in eight months in August.

The final reading of euro zone business activity, due later in the day, is expected to confirm a contraction in August.

Roche dropped 1.1% after Berenberg downgraded the Swiss pharmaceutical firm to “hold” from “buy”, saying it does not see enough catalysts to boost the stock.

Credit Agricole (OTC:) dropped 3.0% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the French bank to “sell”, while Commerzbank (ETR:) slid 3.3% as Barclays cut its rating on the German lender’s stock to “underweight”.