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Oct 17 (Reuters) - European shares ticked lower in early
dealings on Thursday, as investors were tense ahead of a two-day
European Union summit that will focus on last-gasp efforts to
seal a deal on Britain's exit from the bloc.
At 0706 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was
down 0.2% with all major bourses in the red.
Only the London's blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE was flat as the
export-heavy firms benefited from a weakness in the pound. The
domestically-focused midcaps index .FTMC dropped 0.5%.
Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party said it could
not support the withdrawal agreement proposed by Prime Minister
Boris Johnson and the European Union, raising doubts whether
Johnson will be able to win the parliament's approval.
Meanwhile, a mixed bag of earnings reports trickled in.
French car parts group Faurecia EPED.PA dropped 5.3% after
posting lower-than-expected third quarter sales. Ericsson ERICb.ST jumped nearly 7% after the telecoms
equipment maker posted quarterly core earnings well ahead of
expectations and lifted its 2020 sales target. Mining stocks .SXPP posted the sharpest fall of 1.3% among
European sectors.