European shares fall as Sweden's SBB drags

European shares fell on Tuesday, with Sweden's SBB leading declines after delaying its dividend payment while investors remained wary ahead of crucial upcoming U.S. economic data releases.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.2% by 7:06 GMT, with investor focus on U.S. consumer prices data due later this week for cues on whether the Federal Reserve can pause future rate hikes.

SBB dropped 7.7% after the Swedish landlord on Monday said it would delay its dividend payment and no longer carry out a 2.63 billion Swedish crowns ($259.1 million) rights issue after S&P Global cut its credit rating to junk.


Limiting losses, Banco BPM climbed 4.9% after Italy's third-largest bank raised its profit target for this year and the next, following stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings.

Fresenius Medical Care advanced 1.4% after the German dialysis specialist reported a smaller-than-expected drop in its first-quarter adjusted operating income.