LONDON: European shares fell on Thursday after data pointed to a mixed picture for the euro zone's economic recovery, with German private-sector growth slowing again in May even as France extended its timid recovery.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.1 percent at 1107 GMT at 1612.55, with Germany's DAX down 0.5 percent.
Blue-chip German stocks underperformed other indexes after Markit's flash composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for Europe's largest economy showed a drop in May, though it rose in France.
Signs that the positive effects of the European Central Bank's bond-buying programme, such as a weakening of the euro, may have started to peter out in the second quarter have pushed some investors to trim their exposure to European stocks, though they still remain near multi-year peaks.
"We knew Germany was topping out, and the PMIs highlight that the a weak euro is crucial to give exporters, and export-driven nations like Germany, an extra push," Veronika Pechlaner, European fund manager at Asbhurton, said.
"Any further appreciation in the euro is not going to help."
Germany's DAX fell 0.5 percent.
European trading broadly tracked U.S. and Asian markets, after minutes from last month's Federal Reserve meeting offered little to alter market expectations of the timing of an interest-rate hike. Economic data out of Asia also pointed to an economy stuck in low gear.
Mining stocks such as Fresnillo, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rose around 1 percent, as hopes of more monetary stimulus from China boosted metals prices.
Shares of Deutsche Bank, which faces a potentially stormy shareholder meeting later on Thursday, were edged 0.5 percent lower. The bank reshuffled its management board late on Wednesday, consolidating restructuring authority under co-Chief Executive Anshu Jain while bidding farewell to its retail banking head Rainer Neske.
Austria's Raiffeisen Bank fell 2 percent after the bank's first-quarter profit fell by nearly half.
Zurich Insurance shares, meanwhile, outperformed after the insurer raised the prospect of returning more cash to shareholders.
The market's most eye-popping slump came with German-listed Joyou, which sells bathroom wares such as toilets and faucets. The stock slumped 85 percent after the company said it was mulling whether to file for insolvency after an extraordinary writedown.
Nomura strategists recommended a reshuffle of European equity portfolios, downgrading industrials stocks to "Neutral" and recommending banking stocks. "We remain positive on European equities, with the view that earnings growth will be sufficient to drive the market higher," they wrote in a note.
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