The pan-European index was down 0.1pc by 0735 GMT with most indices in the red after China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on Friday, although crude prices lifted London's oil-heavy FTSE 100.

Viennese stocks fell about 0.6pc, underperforming the benchmark index, after Austria's president called for snap elections in September following the resignation of the country's vice chancellor.

Europe's largest low-cost carrier Ryanair landed at the bottom of the STOXX 600 after issuing a profit warning as it grapples with overcapacity, Brexit and delays in delivery of the Boeing 737 Max.

EasyJet Plc, Lufthansa AG and Air France also slid between 1.5pc and 3pc.

The tech sector fell 0.8pc, with Infineon sliding 3.4pc on reports of halting shipments to Chinese telecom giant Huawei after it was blacklisted by US President Donald Trump.

Chipmakers AMS, STMicroelectronics, and ASML were all down between 1.8pc and 3pc on fears of disruption to their client base and STMicro's decline dragged Italy's FTSE MIB down 1.8pc.

Nokia jumped 3.1pc, the most on the STOXX 600, while Ericsson gained 1.3pc, as any damage to Huawei could benefit the European telecom equipment makers.

Deutsche Bank shares came under pressure after the New York Times reported that anti-money laundering specialists at the bank recommended in 2016, and 2017, that multiple transactions involving entities controlled by US President Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner be reported to a federal financial-crimes watchdog.

Merlin Entertainments was among the biggest decliners on the STOXX 600, after HSBC double downgraded the shares of the Madame Tussauds-owner.

Among the bright spots, the oil and gas sector provided the biggest boost, along with defensive sectors. ?Reuters