Europe open: Shares retreat again on weak Wall St; Beazley surges

European shares were in retreat again on Thursday as the previous session's rally fizzled out amid another dump of corporate earnings.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.8% at 491 in early deals, with all major regional bourses in the red. US markets were all lower overnight while Asian shares were mixed.

"Despite assurances from US Fed officials that the world's largest economy is not headed for a recession, stocks wilted under pressure amid concerns about the outlook for the US economy," said Patrick Munnelly of Tickmill Group.

"As a result, Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, following the generally weak handover from Wall Street overnight. In addition, increased geopolitical tensions are negatively impacting the markets."

In equity news, shares in UK insurer Beazley surged 10% after interim results, while gambling group Entain rose 8% on upbeat earnings news as did Hikma Pharma.

Among the day's losers were Spirax Group, Siemens Energy and Zurich Insurance also after earnings releases.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com