LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - European shares fell back on Tuesday as global markets took a risk-averse turn, with cyclical sectors including mining and financials suffering the sharpest losses.
Europe's STOXX 600 .STOXX dropped 0.6 percent at the open before easing slightly to trade down 0.4 percent, in line with euro zone blue-chips and Germany's DAX .GDAXI .
The falls followed weaker trading sessions in Asia and Wall Street, triggered partly by a slide in Apple AAPL.O shares.
The cyclical sectors leading the charge year-to-date were the worst hit as investors took profits after a strong run.
Mining and financial stocks were the biggest weight, with almost all sectors in the red.
Basic resources stocks .SXPP sank 1.4 percent, the biggest sectoral fallers as metals prices tumbled, dented by the strengthening dollar. Anglo American AAL.L was among the worst-performing.
Banks ING INGA.AS , HSBC HSBA.L , and insurers AXA AXAF.PA and Prudential PRU.L were the biggest laggards among financials. Europe's banks index fell 0.8 percent while financial services stocks dropped 0.7 percent.
Tech stocks .SX8P meanwhile outperformed the market, gaining 0.2 percent.
Results drove trading, with investors rewarding Swatch and Alfa Laval while Loomis and Philips disappointed.
Loomis LOOMb.ST was bottom of the STOXX, down 8.2 percent after the Swedish support services firm reported fourth-quarter profit missed forecasts. UHR.S was among the top gainers on the index after impressive results. The Swiss watchmaker's profit rose 28 percent in 2017, and it said it expected 'very positive' growth in 2018. engineering group Alfa Laval ALFA.ST gained 3 percent after its fourth quarter order intake far exceeded market forecasts. turbine maker Siemens Gamesa SGREN.MC gained 5 percent after its first-quarter results. technology firm Philips PHG.AS fell back 2 percent, with traders pointing to the firm missing fourth-quarter earnings and revenue expectations.
M&A also drove trading with shares in British conference organiser UBM UBM.L rising 3 percent after Informa INF.L sealed its 3.8 billion pound ($5.3 billion) takeover of the firm.