Europe open: Shares, oil price lower on China property woes

European shares were lower in the week’s opening session as worries over China’s troubled property sector hit sentiment.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.1% in early deals after a weaker session in Asia saw shares in Hong Kong fall more than 2%.

Chinese property developer Country Garden issued a warning of a massive $7.6bn loss in the first half of 2023 and said it was struggling to meet its debt obligations and suspended trading on 11 of its onshore bonds.

Shares in the company plunged 15%, sparking more concerns about the state of the world’s second-biggest economy and also sending oil prices lower with Brent crude sliding below $86 a barrel.

China-exposed miners and oil producers fell, with Orron Energy lower, along with BP and Shell.

Among stocks making gains, Philips rose almost 5% after Dutch investment firm Exor took a 15% stake in the healthcare company.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com