(Reuters) – European stocks inched lower on Tuesday, as weak earnings reports added to jitters over the Ukraine crisis after ceasefire talks between Moscow and Kyiv failed to reach a breakthrough.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.5%, as of 0827 GMT. Gains in mining and oil & gas stocks were outweighed by losses in the travel & leisure sector following disappointing earnings from betting group Flutter.
Shell inched up 0.4% after the London-listed energy major said it would exit all its Russian operations, including a major liquefied natural gas plant. Its stock fell 1.4% in the previous session.
Ceasefire talks between Russia and its southern neighbour held on Monday failed to reach a breakthrough and negotiators have not said when a new round would take place.
Shares of beaten-down stocks such as London-listed miner EVRAZ, which has a large exposure to Russia, rose 7.2% after suffering double-digit falls in the past few sessions.
German chemicals maker Covestro gained 3.7% after saying it had more than doubled its 2021 core profit and expected upbeat earnings for 2022.
Euro zone and UK factory activity readings are due later in the day.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
