European shares slip ahead of economic data; Avast soars

(Reuters) - European shares fell in early trading on Wednesday ahead of key business growth data, while broader markets weighed the potential fallout from U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

The STOXX 600 index slipped 0.2% at 7:10 GMT.

Investors are awaiting crucial data on business growth and services in the euro zone to gauge the continent's economic health amid fears of a recession.

Luxury carmaker BMW dropped 5.5% after warning of a highly volatile second half.

Strong earnings reports from other companies capped losses in morning trade.

Infineon, the leading supplier of microchips to the auto industry, rose 3.1% on lifting its full-year outlook as it posted a 33% year-on-year increase in quarterly revenue.

Britain's competition regulator said it has provisionally cleared cybersecurity firm NortonLifeLock's $8.6 billion purchase of rival Avast. London-listed Avast's shares jumped 42.4%.

(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)