European shares take a breather, banks lead decline

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July 7 (Reuters) - European shares slipped on Tuesday as investors locked in gains following a rally in the previous session on China's move to prop up its market, with surging U.S. coronavirus cases also weighing on the mood.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.7% by 0713 GMT, falling back from a near one-month high.

Retail investors rushed to join an officially sanctioned bull market in China, a major trading partner of Europe, driving Shanghai-listed shares to a five-year high and sparking optimism across global markets on Monday.

Banks, which had surged 4% in the previous session, fell 2%, while energy firms also dragged the market lower as oil prices slid on concerns over a recovery in fuel demand.

Among individual movers, Heidelbergcement dropped 2% after the company said a review of its assets had forced it to book an impairment of 3.2 billion euros due to the fallout of the pandemic.

French catering and food services group Sodexo slipped 1.5% as it forecast fourth-quarter and half-year sales to fall harder than previously expected due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)