LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) - European shares slipped slightly from the 20-month highs they hit in the previous session, as investors locked in some profits following some underwhelming company results.
Europe's STOXX 600 .STOXX index was down 0.2 percent by 0725 GMT. France's CAC 40 .FCHI and Germany's DAX .GDAXI fell 0.3 and 0.1 percent, retreating from their highs.
Hugo Boss BOSSn.DE shares fell 6 percent, with traders citing like-for-like sales slightly underperforming expectations. The German fashion house added to signs of a pick-up in the luxury sector, reporting a better than expected profit boosted by strong sales in Britain and China. Semiconductor DLGS.DE shares slid 2.9 percent at the open after its main client Apple AAPL.O reported a surprise dip in iPhone sales. had plummeted 14 percent in April on fears over Apple bringing some of its components in-house. Peer STMicro STM.MI was a top faller on Italy's blue-chips, down 1.6 percent.
German bluechip automakers Daimler DAIGn.DE and BMW BMWG.DE were also on the backfoot after a disappointing set of April auto sales in the U.S. Daimler shares fell about 1 percent.
Gains among healthcare stocks supported the index, with Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO and Fresenius FREG.DE both up 4.6 and 2.7 percent respectively after upping 2017 profit forecasts in their first-quarter results. Fresenius shares touched a record high. Nokian Tyres NRE1V.HE was a top faller, down 4.8 percent after it missed on operating profit in its first-quarter results. first-quarter earnings are expected to increase 10.5 percent from the first quarter of 2016, or 6.2 percent excluding the energy sector, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Of 111 companies having reported earnings so far, 70.3 percent exceeded analyst estimates; above the 49.5 percent of beats in a typical quarter.