European shares end lower as earnings whirlwind disappoints
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LVMH Q2 sales miss estimates, shares fall
Deutsche Bank down after reporting first loss in 4 years
Euro zone HCOB's PMI drops to 50.1
STOXX 600 down 0.6%
Updated at 1600 GMT
By Pranav Kashyap, Shristi Achar A and Shashwat Chauhan
July 24 (Reuters) -European shares closed lower on Wednesday, dampened by luxury stocks after dour results from LVMH weighed on the sector, while a raft of lacklustre corporate earnings in other parts of the market like banks also added to the downbeat mood.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed 0.6% lower, with technology .SX8P the top sectoral decliner with a 2.4% loss, as Dutch chip-making equipment supplier ASM International ASMI.AS dropped 9.4% despite raising its third-quarter guidance after second-quarter orders beat analyst estimates.
Other semiconductor-related companies like BESI BESI.AS, and ASML ASML.AS also fell 8.5% and 3.4%, respectively.
Temenos TEMN.S shed 5.6% after the Swiss banking software firm lowered its annual outlook, citing an impact of short-seller Hindenburg Research's report on its half-year performance.
Shares of the world's largest luxury goods firm LVMH LVMH.PA fell 4.7% after it missed estimates for second-quarter sales. Christian Dior DIOR.PA, part of the group's fashion and leather goods division, fell 4.7%, while other luxury heavyweights like Kering PRTP.PA, Hermes HRMS.PA and Hugo Boss BOSSn.DE shed between 2.1% and 4.5%.
The French benchmark CAC 40 index .FCHI lost 1.1%, underperforming other regional bourses.
European lenders .SX7P lost 0.5%, with Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE down 8.3% after the German bank posted its first loss in four years in the second quarter after setting aside 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) as a provision for an investor lawsuit.
Earnings season in Europe and the United States has gotten off to a rocky start, with the STOXX 600 index wavering amid a whirlwind of mixed earnings reports.
Across the Atlantic, dismal results from U.S. electric automaker Tesla TSLA.O and tech giant Alphabet GOOGL.O also dented sentiment.
Meanwhile, HCOB's preliminary composite Purchasing Managers' Index data showed growth in euro zone business activity stalled this month as a tepid expansion in the bloc's dominant services industry failed to offset a deeper downturn among manufacturers.
"Today's weak figures put a question mark over a noticeable economic recovery expected by many forecasters for the second half of the year," Commerzbank economists said in a note.
"This does not mean that there will be no recovery at all, but it will come later and will probably be weaker than generally expected."
Among other stocks, Iveco Group IVG.MI slumped 14.5% after the Italian truck and bus maker's operating profit fell 4% in the second quarter.
On the bright side, Spain's Santander SAN.MC gained 3% after the euro zone's second biggest bank hiked its profitability goals following strong growth at its main retail business.
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap, Shristi Achar A and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Emelia Sithole-Matarise
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