(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Deutsche Bank skids after DoJ violation report
* Defensive sectors cap losses
* Investors eye U.S. CPI data due Friday
(Updates to close)
By Anisha Sircar and Susan Mathew
Dec 9 (Reuters) - European shares ended lower on Thursday,
pressured by COVID-19 worries with highly valued technology
stocks continuing their slide while falling oil prices weighed
on energy companies.
The pan-European STOXX 600 erased early gains to
slip 0.1%, continuing a mid-week wobble on concerns the newly
discovered Omicron coronavirus variant could dent global
economic recovery as governments ramp up measures to slow its
spread.
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday warned the
pandemic could turn out far more costly than estimated. This
seemingly undid to an extent optimism that came after vaccine
makers Pfizer and BioNTech said three shots of their vaccine was
effective against Omicron.
Oil prices slipped as a ratings downgrade for two Chinese
property developers stoked fears over the economic health of the
world's biggest oil importer, adding to worries.
European oil majors BP, Royal Dutch Shell
and TotalEnergies fell between 0.6% and 1.5%.
Tech stocks lost another 0.8% as investors moved
into defensive sectors ahead of U.S. inflation data due on
Friday which could influence the Federal Reserve's policy
stance.
Next week, the European Central Bank is seen maintaining its
transitory inflation stance, strategists at Rabobank said.
Michael Bell, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset
Management forecast a positive outlook for European equities
next year even if policy tightens as most people are not really
going to feel it at least over the next year or two if the
economy grows barring COVID-19 hits.
Deutsche Bank dropped 3.4% after the Wall Street
Journal reported the U.S. Justice Department said the bank
failed to tell prosecutors about an internal complaint in its
asset-management arm's sustainable investing business.
Meanwhile, UniCredit surged 10.8% to the top of
Italy's blue-chip FTSE MIB after the company said it
aimed to increase its net profit on average by 10% a year
through to 2024.
Fashion retailer LPP jumped 14.7% hitting an
all-time high after the Polish clothing company reported
better-than-expected third-quarter results.
French waste and water management company Veolia
led utility stocks after sources said it was set to
secure EU antitrust approval along with Suez for their
13 billion euro tie-up.
Utility firm EDF slipped 2.0% after a trader
pointed to a media report on a French government plan to limit
the impact of rising electricity prices.
Deliveroo and Delivery Hero fell after the
European Commission published draft rules to give workers at
online platform companies better social rights, but which
companies say could lead to job losses and more litigation in
court.
(Reporting by Anisha Sircar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu, Amy Caren Daniel and David Evans)
