Feb 19 (Reuters) – European shares slipped marginally on Thursday following a mixed bag of earnings from the likes of Airbus and Nestlé, while tensions between U.S. and Iran added an element of caution.
The pan-European index was down 0.1% at 628.24 points by 0813 GMT, retreating from a record close on Wednesday.
Investors globally were on edge after the U.S. and Iran heightened military activity in the oil-rich Middle East, even as talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme in Geneva showed signs of progress.
European energy stocks were marginally higher, tracking a 1% gain in crude prices.
On the earnings front, Airbus shares fell 5.4% after the world’s largest planemaker softened its main jet production target.
Nestle reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales growth and said it planned to sell its ice cream business, which sent shares of the maker of Maggi stock cubes and Nescafe coffee up 3.5%.
Rio Tinto declined 3.8% after the world’s largest iron ore producer reported flat annual earnings that missed expectations on weaker iron ore prices. The broader mining index fell 2.3% and led sectors lower.
(Reporting by Avinash P and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)
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