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June 24 (Reuters) - European stocks slipped on Wednesday,
weighed down by defensive sectors, as investors remained
cautious about a surge in the number of global coronavirus
cases.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX , which had closed at a
near two-week high in the previous session, slid 0.5%, with food
and beverage .SX3P , telecoms .SXKP , and healthcare stocks
.SXDP falling between 0.7% and 0.8%.
Many U.S. states have reported record daily increases in
COVID-19 infections in recent weeks. A media report that
European Union countries are prepared to bar entry to Americans
also raised worries of further restrictions that could derail an
economic recovery. The top decliner on STOXX 600 was Sweden's Evolution Gaming
Group AB EVOG.ST , which fell 7.4% after it offered to buy
NetEnt AB for 19.6 billion Swedish crowns ($2.12 billion).
NetEnt's shares jumped 30%. German real estate company Leg Immobilien LEGn.DE fell
3.2% after plans to launch a capital increase through stock and
debt offering.
Austrian sensor maker AMS AMS.S rose 4.3% after JPMorgan
upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral", while Dialog
Semiconductor DLGS.DE jumped 6.8% after raising its quarterly
revenue outlook.