European shares fall as losses in energy, healthcare stocks weigh

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window) Sept 30 (Reuters) – European shares eased on Tuesday as heavyweight energy and healthcare stocks lost ground, while investors weighed the potential impact of a U.S. government shutdown that could delay the release of the closely-watched monthly jobs data. The pan-European STOXX 600 slipped 0.2% to 554.7 points by 0709 GMT, though set for its third successive monthly gain and a more than 2% gain for the quarter. Heavyweight oil and gas stocks dipped 0.8%, tracking declining oil prices. France's TotalEnergies and UK's BP fell more than 1% each. Healthcare stocks also shed 0.3%, with Denmark's Novo Nordisk and the UK's AstraZeneca down about 1% each. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that a government shutdown was likely as budget talks with Democrats stalled. A closure would delay the jobs data, a key indicator of economic health, due later this week. On the economic data front in Europe, the UK economy grew 0.3% in the second quarter, French preliminary inflation stood at 1.1% in September and German retail sales unexpectedly fell in August. Among top-moving stocks, Britain's ASOS slid 11.4% after the online fashion retailer warned that its annual revenue would miss market expectations. (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru and Amir Orusov in Gdansk; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

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