Europe midday: Shares slip into red as Reckitt disappoints

European shares slipped into the red at lunchtime on Monday as investors looked for something to chew on with US and China markets both closed.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index was down hed 0.1% to 380 after managing to keep its head above water in the morning session. A poor outlook from consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser pulled t,he index lower.

"Global equities are a shade offside to start the new week with holidays in Asia (Lunar New Year) and the US (Presidents' Day) reducing trading volumes,” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets.

In corporate news, Reckitt was under the cosh as it vowed to return to growth after reporting flat like-for-like sales for 2017.

Daimler shares were lower after a report in the German newspaper cited internal documents from US investigators that the car company may have used software to help some of its vehicles pass U.S. diesel-emissions tests.

AstraZeneca ticked lower after it and MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Imfinzi for the treatment of patients with unresectable Stage III non-small cell lung cancer, whose disease has not progressed following concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

On the upside, Spectris rallied as it posted a 12% increase in full-year pre-tax profit and a 13% rise in revenue