Michelin, Unilever lead European shares lower as results disappoint

LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - European stocks fell early on Thursday as weak results from French tyre-maker Michelin (Paris: FR0000121261 - news) and consumer goods group Unilever added to a subdued tone for global equities overnight.

Unilever (NYSE: UL - news) fell 3 percent in London by 0705 GMT after it reported a weaker-than-expected 2.1 percent rise in third-quarter sales on Thursday as a slowdown in emerging markets continued to crimp performance.

Michelin was down 4.8 percent as it cut its full-year sales goal and said it would rein in investment after third-quarter sales fell 4.6 percent, weighed down by an emerging-market slump and weaker European truck tyre demand.

Adding to the gloom, a survey of French manufacturing activity came in lower than expected. Investors were awaiting equivalent surveys from Germany and the euro zone as a whole at 0730 GMT and 0800 GMT.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.8 percent at 1,299.11 points. (Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)