European shares slip on growth jitters; French stocks lead decline
Michel Barnier named French prime minister
Part of Airbus A350 fleet faces inspection, regulator says
China growth concerns weigh on luxury stocks
Vistry rises on buyback, higher HY profit
STOXX 600 down 0.5%
Updated at 1620 GMT
By Shubham Batra and Lisa Pauline Mattackal
Sept 5 (Reuters) -European stocks fell on Thursday as mixed economic data spurred worries about global growth and offset gains in interest rate-sensitive sectors, with France's CAC 40 leading national declines.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX fell 0.5%, with sectors tracking healthcare .SXDP, chemicals .SX4P and personal goods .SXQP all falling over 1%.
Economic worries continued to weigh on sentiment. German industrial orders rose more than expected in July, but euro zone retail sales slipped on an annual basis.
That, combined with some signs of weakening in the U.S. labour market, kept investors cautious ahead of key U.S. nonfarm payrolls data on Friday.
"The industrial orders were good news for Germany but everybody right now is focused on U.S. job data ... tension in the market is growing higher into tomorrow's U.S. job report which is why we see a continued sell off in the U.S. and European stock markets," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
France's benchmark index .FCHI slipped 0.9%, its third consecutive loss, as worries about a slowdown in top consumer China weighed on luxury stocks.
An index of luxury stocks dropped over 3% .STXLUXP, with LVMH LVMH.PA and Hermes International HRMS.PA slumping 3.6% and 6.4%, respectively.
The selection of Michel Barnier, the EU's former Brexit negotiator, as France's prime minister helped lift some bank stocks and government bonds in hopes it would soothe the country's political turmoil since President Emmanuel Macron called a snap election in June.
"Having a Prime Minister is a good sign and it's going to calm nerves in the market, but this period of (political) uncertainty has damaged investor appetite for France," Ozkardeskaya said.
Germany's benchmark DAX index .GDAXI was flat. The country's Ifo Institute said the economy was likely to stagnate this year, in contrast to previous forecasts of 0.4% growth.
The rate-sensitive utility .SX6P and real estate .SX86P sectors were the top gainers, both up over 1% as investors continued to expect rate cuts this month from both the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve.
Economists polled by Reuters expect the ECB to cut its deposit rate by 25 basis points on Sept. 12 and again in December.
Among individual stocks, Airbus SE AIR.PA fell 1.4% after Europe's air safety regulator said it would call for inspections on at least part of its A350 fleet after an engine part failed during a Cathay Pacific flight.
Vistry VTYV.L surged 8.5% as the British homebuilder said it would buy back shares worth 130 million pounds following a 7% rise in half-year earnings.
Technology shares .SX8P broadly fell, extending their slide from the previous session, with ASML Holdings ASML.AS falling 2.2%, tracking weakness in U.S. semiconductor stocks.
Reporting by Shubham Batra, Johann M Cherian and Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Mark Potter
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