European equities slipped after climbing to a two-week high earlier on Thursday, with some disappointing company results and weaker miners putting pressure on the market, Reuters reported. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was 0.5 percent lower at 1,288.74 points by 0851 GMT after rising to 1,298.16, its highest level since Feb. 5. It had ended 2.7 percent stronger on Wednesday following a rally in oil prices. About half of the companies in the STOXX Europe 600 index have reported results so far, of which 53 percent have met or beaten analysts' forecasts and the rest have missed. The fourth-quarter earnings have fallen 15 percent from the same quarter of the previous year, Thomson Reuters StarMine shows. Miners also came under pressure after a strong rally in the previous session as some investors booked profits. The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index fell 2.3 percent, the top sectoral decliner, after surging 8 percent on Wednesday.
