European shares slip on cautious company updates, Zalando soars

European shares slipped to a one-week low on Tuesday, with Trelleborg and AkzoNobel falling on concerns about their outlook and miners tracking weaker metals prices.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.8% by 0821 GMT after hitting its lowest level since July 12. The FTSEurofirst 300 was also down 0.8%, having closed slightly higher in the previous session.

Dutch chemicals company AkzoNobel dropped 5%. It beat analysts' second-quarter earnings forecast, but warned that the currency volatility and deflationary pressures that overshadowed the results were set to continue.

Swedish industrial rubber maker Trelleborg fell 5.5%, the top decliner in the STOXX Europe 600 index, after reporting a steep fall in like-for-like sales in the second quarter and saying it saw flat or slightly weaker demand ahead.

K+S fell 2.8% after saying late on Monday that an accident involving equipment at its new Canadian potash mine resulted in "consequential damage", fuelling speculation the opening of the project could be delayed.

Other miners also lost ground, with the STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index down 2.7%, the top sectoral decliner, following a fall in metals prices. Shares in Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Anglo American were down 2.7 to 3.3%.

Banks were also under pressure, with the European banking index down 1% and Italian banks falling nearly 2%.

The sector showed little reaction to a ruling by the European Court of Justice that European Union member states were obliged to make shareholders and junior creditors pay before intervening to rescue a bank.

On the positive side, Zalando surged 17% as Europe's biggest dedicated online fashion retailer raised its forecast for full-year profitability after reporting a jump in preliminary sales for the second quarter.