At 0830 GMT the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.5 percent with most bourses and sector in the red as news of the second consecutive drop in Chinese industrial profits in December dampened the mood.

A number of corporate developments triggered sharp moves such as for the shares of Germany's MorphoSys which sank 6.6 percent, the worst performer on the STOXX, after a US court ruling on three patents.

Another strong loser was Alstom, which fell 3.3 percent after the French group and Germany's Siemens offered new concessions to try to satisfy antitrust concerns of the European Commission for their plans to create a joint European rail champion.

Among winners, shares of British online grocer Ocado and Marks & Spencer jumped after a report the companies are in talks about a tie-up to launch of a food delivery service. Ocado topped the FTSE 100 after hitting its highest since Sept. 6.