European shares slip as investors stay cautious over Trump plans

MILAN, March 23 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early trade on Thursday as investors assessed the risks to Donald Trump's stimulus plans, just before a vote in the U.S. Congress on his healthcare bill.

By 0822 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 percent, following slight losses in the previous session. Britain's FTSE fell 0.2 percent.

The U.S. vote, which could come as early as Thursday, is considered a key test of Trump's ability to push through legislation, including business-friendly tax cuts.

Expectations of a big economic stimulus in the world's largest economy have helped fuel a global rally in equity markets, lifting the STOXX to 15-month highs earlier this week.

Among individual stock movers on Thursday, IG Group fell 4.5 percent, topping STOXX losers, after the British online trading firm posted a fall in quarterly revenues caused by weakness in UK and Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) .

Sectoral indexes were showing small moves, between a 0.4 percent fall and a 0.2 percent rise, underlying the overall cautious mood. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, editing by Larry King)