European shares retreat

European equities retreated on Tuesday after strong gains in the previous session, with basic resources companies facing a heavy sell-off after copper prices fell sharply on concerns about a global surplus of the industrial metal. Shares in Volkswagen fell more than 5 per cent, after slumping nearly 19 per cent in the previous session, after an invesigation into possible cheating over emissions tests spread to Asia. The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index dropped 4 per cent, the top sectoral faller, dragged down by a 3.8 to 9.6 per cent fall in Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Glencore, Anglo American and Antofagasta. The European mining index has slumped about 25 per cent so far this year. Outokumpu shares fell 14.5 per cent. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 1.6 per cent at 1,388.52 points. The benchmark index has been hovering within a 75-point range this month. It broadly traded in a 170-point band in July and August. Shares in Volkswagen fell 5.5 per cent, according to Reuters.

--Shuvo--