European shares dipped in early trading on Monday, halting their recent sharp rally, following poor economic figures from China. Shares in Norwegian seismic oil and gas explorer TGS sank 10.6 per cent after it cut its full-year revenue guidance and said it would lay off a tenth of its workforce.

Early Monday morning, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.2 per cent at 1,642.81 points. Data showed that China’s export sales contracted 15 per cent in March while import shipments fell at their sharpest rate since the 2009 global financial crisis, a shock outcome that deepens concern about sputtering Chinese economic growth.

Tesco Plc fell 1.4 per cent after a Telegraph report that the retailer will announce an impairment charge of £3 billion when it reports results on April 22nd. The newspaper cited Barclays Plc analysts.

Reuters/Bloomberg