European shares slipped back on Thursday, as a clutch of profit warnings from companies throughout the region took their toll on the market.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down by 0.1 per cent, and is down by about 6 per cent since the start of 2016.

Shares in German engineering company GEA slumped by about 20 per cent after the firm slashed its profit guidance for this year.

Shares in British engineering company Keller and engineering solutions company Senior also dived lower after both companies issued profit warnings.

Shares in Swiss food group Nestlé also fell 1 per cent after the firm cut its sales outlook.

However, Lufthansa jumped 8 per cent after raising its profit guidance, lifting the shares of other airlines such as Air France KLM. – (Reuters)