* Eurozone business growth slowed in May - PMI
* French stocks lead decline as luxury names hit
* Tech stocks decline with Wall Street
* Tele2 plunges after Kinnevik sells 7.2% stake
May 24 (Reuters) - European shares ended lower on Tuesday,
tracking declines in global stock markets with business
expansion data for May renewing investor concerns over slowing
economic growth and monetary policy tightening.
The pan-European STOXX 60 index closed 1.1% down,
giving back almost all of Monday's gains.
PMI data showed euro zone business growth slowed this month
and a shortage of raw materials held back expansion in
manufacturing, adding to worries over global growth.
Europe's largest economy, Germany, meanwhile, remains on the
growth path helped by a sustained rebound in services, although
demand outlook looks bleak amid inflation and supply issues.
German shares gave up 1.8%.
"The clouds are packing above the eurozone economy," said
Bert Colijn, senior economist, Eurozone at ING. "And the
question is really how long the service sector can continue to
profit from consumers
when we also see that purchasing power is
under extreme pressure due to high inflation."
"Inflationary pressures are barely abating and... this is a
warning that it is likely to remain quite hawkish for the
European Central Bank," he said, signaling a period of
sustained pressure for stocks.
All major sectors posted broad declines, with luxury stocks
and retailers in the lead, which take a hit when disposable
income is squeezed.
The French index, packed with luxury stocks, slumped
1.7%, the top decliner among regional peers.
Tech stocks on Europe fell 2.7% along with Wall
Street after Snapchat-owner Snap Inc's profit warning
hurt other major social media stocks. Frankfurt-listed shares of
Snap plunged 44.6%.
"Snap seems to have taken the blame for the market's
inability to hold its limited gains, but in reality, investors
are still taking every chance they can to cut back on stocks,
particularly those previous market darlings in the tech sector,"
said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading
platform IG.
The STOXX 600 is now down more than 12% from this year's
highs hit in early January.
Worries about monetary policy tightening to control surging
inflation, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and COVID-19 curbs in
China restricting demand in the world's second-largest economy
have all weighed on markets.
Tele2 plunged 7.9% after investment company
Kinnevik sold a 7.2% stake in the telecoms operator.
Barclays rose 3.2% on starting a suspended
1-billion-pound share buyback program.
Shares of UK power generating companies Drax,
Centrica and SSE plunged between 7.5% and 14%
after the Financial Times reported that the British government
could extend the windfall tax to power generators.
(Reporting by Susan Mathew and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru;
Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Frank Jack Daniel)