London - European equities retreated early on Tuesday after strong gains in the previous session, with Volkswagen leading the market lower after its emissions-cheating probe spread to Asia.
Volkswagen, which has admitted cheating diesel vehicle emissions tests in the United States, fell 3.3% after South Korea said it would investigate three of its diesel models. Lawmakers on a panel in the US House of Representatives also planned to hold a hearing in coming weeks.
Volkswagen's shares had previously slumped nearly 20% on Monday.
At 09:08, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.3% at 1 407.35 points, after closing 1% higher in the previous session.