European shares struggle due to downbeat airlines and chipmakers stocks

A Ryanair profit warning pressured airline and travel stocks and chipmakers slid after Infineon halted shipments to Huawei as U.S.-China trade tensions kept a lid on the STOXX 600 at the open on Monday.

The pan-European index was down 0.1% by 0735 GMT with most indices in the red after China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on Friday, although crude prices lifted London's oil-heavy FTSE 100. Viennese stocks fell about 0.6%, underperforming the benchmark index after Austria's president called for snap elections in September following the resignation of the country's vice chancellor.

Europe's largest low-cost carrier Ryanair landed at the bottom of the STOXX 600 after issuing a profit warning as it grapples with overcapacity, Brexit and delays in delivery of the Boeing 737 Max. EasyJet Plc, Lufthansa AG and Air France also slid between 1.5% and 3%.

The tech sector fell 0.8%, with Infineon sliding 3.4% on reports of halting shipments to Chinese telecom giant Huawei after it was blacklisted by U.S. President Donald Trump. Chipmakers AMS, STMicroelectronics, and ASML were all down between 1.8% and 3% on fears of disruption to their client base and STMicro's decline dragged Italy's FTSE MIB down 1.8%.

Nokia jumped 3.1%, the most on the STOXX 600, while Ericsson gained 1.3%, as any damage to Huawei could benefit the European telecom equipment makers. Deutsche Bank shares came under pressure after the New York Times reported that anti-money laundering specialists at the bank recommended in 2016 and 2017 that multiple transactions involving entities controlled by U.S. President Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner be reported to a federal financial-crimes watchdog.

Merlin Entertainments was among the biggest decliners on the STOXX 600 after HSBC double downgraded the shares of the Madame Tussauds-owner. Among the bright spots, the oil and gas sector provided the biggest boost, along with defensive sectors.