European stocks fell on Tuesday as falls in retailers and Swiss bank UBS offset a rally in oil shares and Unilever, which rose on bullish sales forecasts.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1% by 0722 GMT, while overall sentiment remained fragile on recession concerns.
Russia is set to cut gas supplies to Europe, while investors are also bracing for a possible interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
Retail stocks fell the most, down 2.3%, hurt by a profit warning from top US retailer Walmart Inc., which said rising food and fuel prices had weighed on optional demand. .
European luxury stocks fell, with French spirits maker Rémy Cointreau down 0.3%, despite improved profits.
London’s FTSE 100, with a high commodity weight, outperformed and advanced 0.4%, thanks to higher prices for crude oil, base metals and iron ore, which favored miners and oil values. [.L]
The biggest boost was given by the consumer company Unilever, which rose 2.2% after raising its sales forecasts for the full year.
Upbeat outlook for Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprüngli sent its shares up 3.3%.
Not all results were positive. Swiss bank UBS fell 5.7% after posting a smaller-than-expected rise in second-quarter net profit, while webcam maker Logitech International fell 3.7% after reporting a 38% drop in first quarter adjusted profit.