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Paris - European shares fell on Monday, led lower by oil and mining stocks, as weak Chinese and euro zone economic data fuelled a change in the commodities market.
Shares in Vodafone were the biggest losers among the region's blue-chips, down 3.1% on talk it could bid for cable operator Liberty Global.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.6% at 1 384.31 points by mid-afternoon.
Sector index
Last week's sell-off in oil majors and oil services firms resumed as Brent crude oil tumbled to a five-year low below $68 a barrel, before bouncing back.
Royal Dutch Shell shed 0.4%, Fugro fell 2.2% and ENI lost 1.6%.
For Steen Jakobsen, chief investment officer at Saxo Bank, in Copenhagen, the slump in oil prices will have significant negative consequences on the US shale gas industry.
"Shale gas and shale oil have added around 0.5% to GDP per year in my model and I think it will now subtract 0.5 to 1.0% as projects become unprofitable and credit in the sector tanks," he said.
The STOXX Europe 600 energy sector index has fallen into bear market territory, down 23% since late June. That amounts to wiping out market capitalisation of roughly $250bn - more than the entire market value of Shell, according to data.
However, the drop in oil prices should have a positive impact on consumer spending and consumer-related stocks.
Fastest pace
"The fall of $0.8 per gallon of gasoline since June 2014 is boosting US consumer purchasing power by $100bn," Societe Generale strategists wrote in a note.
Mining shares also dropped on Monday, falling along with copper prices which tumbled to a 4 1/2-year low. BHP Billiton fell 2.6% and Rio Tinto dropped 1.7%.
Data showed that manufacturing slowed more than expected in China in November and stalled in the euro zone, where new orders fell at the fastest pace in 19 months.
Despite the recent weak euro zone data, Morgan Stanley strategists see European stocks rallying in 2015 on the back of a rebound in earnings, boosted by lower input costs as well as interest costs.
