European shares ease as commodity-linked stocks fall on China woes

(Reuters) – European shares dipped at the open on Monday, as China-exposed mining firms lost ground on concerns over its embattled property sector, while energy firms slipped on dipping oil prices.

By 0703 GMT, the pan-European dipped 0.1%, adding to declines from the previous session.

The , which houses Europe’s largest mining firms lost 1.0%, while slipped 0.8% as prices of crude and base metals fell on heightened concerns over China’s property sector and a firmer dollar. [MET/L]

China-exposed luxury giant and Europe’s most valuable publicly traded firm, LVMH (EPA:) shed 0.5%.

Geopolitics was also on investors’ minds after a Russian warship fired warning shots on a cargo ship in the Black Sea over the weekend.

In a bright spot, Philips (AS:) jumped 4.7% to the top of the STOXX 600 after Dutch investment firm Exor NV (AS:) took a 15% stake in the healthcare company.