Europe midday: Stocks push lower on growth concerns; VW and Vodafone slump

European stocks pushed lower, extending early falls as growth concerns resurfaced following disappointing Chinese data and comments from International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 1.2%, France’s CAC 40 was 1.8% lower and Germany’s DAX was down 1.4%.

Spain’s IBEX 35 was 0.6% lower after pro-independence parties won a clear majority in Catalonia's parliament in a regional election on Sunday.

“Investors returning to the market with a renewed sense of confidence have had their bubble burst once again as Chinese economic data continues to disappoint,” said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at Interactive Investor.

“Furthermore, as the IMF prepares to cut its global growth forecast, we could be set for more downside risk.”

Data released early on Monday by the National Statistics Bureau showed Chinese industrial profits fell 8.8% on the year in August compared with a 2.9% drop in July and marking the biggest drop since records began in 2011. For the first eight months of the year, profits were down an annual 1.9%.

Sentiment was also undermined by media reports that the International Monetary Fund is likely to downgrade its global economic growth estimates due to slower expansion in emerging economies. In an interview with Les Echos, IMF head Christine Lagarde said: “"A forecast of 3.3% growth this year is no longer realistic. A forecast of 3.8% for next year neither. We will however remain above the 3% threshold.”

On the corporate front, Vodafone shares slumped after it announced that it is no longer in discussions with Liberty Global regarding a possible exchange of selected assets between the two companies.

Royal Dutch Shell dropped after the company said it was stopping its offshore explorations in Alaska.

Banks were in focus after Swiss competition commission said it was probing UBS, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Julius Baer, Barclays, Morgan Stanley and Mitsui over possible price fixing in the precious metals market.

Volkswagen was under the cosh again after it emerged that 2.1m of Audi’s cars have been affected by the emissions scandal that has engulfed the German car manufacturer. VW weighed on the broader sector, pushing the Stoxx 600 autos and parts index down 3.2%.

Glencore shares took a tumble on the back of a downbeat note from Investec, which warned investors the stock holds little value for shareholders. In addition, Horizonte Minerals said it has reached an agreement to acquire Glencore’s Araguaia nickel project in north central Brazil for $8m.

Anglo American also slumped on the back of the same note, as Investec said it was in a weaker position than rivals BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto if commodity prices remain depressed.

On the upside, though, brewer SABMiller rallied following weekend press reports that Anheuser-Busch InBev could bid around $106bn for the company within days.

There are no major Eurozone data due but in the US, personal income and spending figures are at 1330 BST while pending home sales are at 1500 BST.