LONDON (AFP) - European stock markets were dragged down by a profit warning from Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group Unilever.
The British FTSE 100 index fell 0.57 percent to 4,564.70 points in early afternoon deals Monday, with the German DAX 30 losing 0.78 percent to 3,956.84 points and the French CAC 40 dropping 0.99 percent to 3,689.27 points.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index declined 0.86 percent to 2,764.65 points.
The euro stood at 1.2133 dollars.
In London, Unilever was the biggest faller, slumping by 6.07 percent to 452.75 pence.
The Anglo-Dutch food and cleaning products giant said profit growth would be significantly weaker this year due to a number of factors including poor European summer weather and weak consumer demand.
"Top-line growth is key to long-term sustainable value creation, and here the recent performance is unacceptable," chairmen Antony Burgmans and Niall FitzGerald said in a statement.
Merrill Lynch analysts wrote in a note to clients: "The problems at Unilever run much deeper than raising marketing spend in one quarter. Without revised thinking on group strategy... then the business will continue to disappoint."
The Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser fell in Unilever's wake, giving up 1.54 percent to 1,410 pence.
In Frankfurt, Henkel, the German maker of Persil washing powder, lost 2.49 percent to 60.59 euros.
On the upside, shares in Italian state airline Alitalia soared 5.42 percent to 0.30 euros following a deal between management and flight attendants over the weekend as part of rescue cutbacks.
On Saturday, Alitalia reached an agreement with flight attendant unions to cut 900 jobs, increase flight hours and freeze wages, generating at least 80 million euros in annual savings.
In Paris, theme park operator Euro Disney surged 13.79 percent to 0.33 euros on a report that the group was about to obtain agreement with creditors to restructure debt.
On Wall Street ahead of the weekend, US stocks were lifted by a better-than-expected profit outlook from Ford, although gains were limited by a lacklustre reading on consumer sentiment and a fresh rise in oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.39 percent to close at 10,284.46 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.32 percent to 1,910.09.
The Standard and Poor's 500 index rose 0.45 percent to 1,128.55 points.
In Asia, Tokyo's stock exchange was closed Monday for a public holiday.
Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index ended flat at 13,221.33 points in cautious trade ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday when US interest rates are expected to be raised by 0.25 percent points, dealers said.