Dec 23 (Reuters) – European shares were muted on Tuesday as healthcare sector gains powered by heavyweight Novo Nordisk clinching U.S. approval of its weight loss pill were offset by losses in consumer-facing shares.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.2% at 587.91 by 0808 GMT. Major regional markets were largely subdued, with benchmark indexes in London and France little changed.
Shares of Novo Nordisk advanced 5.8% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its weight-loss pill on Monday, giving the drugmaker a major competitive advantage in the increasingly lucrative weight management market.
The healthcare sector jumped 0.8%, the most among peers.
Consumer discretionary shares were the biggest weights, with some luxury stocks such as Richemont falling. Energy slipped 0.1%, after logging four consecutive sessions of gains.
Third-quarter U.S. GDP figures, which are expected to show that the U.S. economy had continued to grow strongly, will be on the radar in an otherwise data-light week.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru)
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