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Jan 3 (Reuters) - European shares slipped from near
record-highs on Friday as geopolitical tensions flared after a
U.S. air strike in Iraq killed a top Iranian commander.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was down 0.6% at
0803 GMT, with all the major country indexes well in the red.
Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, architect of the
country's spreading military influence in the Middle East, was
killed in the air strike at Baghdad airport, prompting a vow of
harsh revenge from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The report sent jitters through global financial markets,
with Asian shares giving up early gains and U.S. stock index
futures sliding about 1%. However, oil prices surged about
3%. MKTS/GLOB
All but one European subsectors declined between 0.4% and
1.2%. Oil and gas stocks .SXEP gained 0.4%.