Orange weighs on European shares after Jazztel deal

LONDON: European equity markets edged lower on Tuesday, keeping within their recent range while mergers & acquisitions activity took centre stage after a wave of bids.

France's Orange fell 0.7 per cent after saying late on Monday it reached a deal to buy Spanish fixed line telecommunications operator Jazztel, whose shares surged 6 per cent.

Italian defence group Finmeccanica rose 0.7 per cent after saying it has received four non-binding offers for its railway units Ansaldo STS, up 1.1 per cent, and AnsaldoBreda.

At 0708 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.2 per cent at 1,379.16 points. The index has been trading sideways before Scotland votes on independence and the US Federal Reserve holds its latest policy meeting, with both events due later this week.