European shares retreated on Tuesday with automakers and miners leading losses as weak data from China fuelled concerns about an economic slowdown, while investors awaited more data on the euro zone economy.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.2%, with most regional markets in the red.

Automakers and miners fell 1.2% and 0.7%, respectively, after data showed China's April industrial output and retail sales growth undershot forecasts, suggesting the economy lost momentum at the beginning of the second quarter.

The telecoms index declined 0.8% with Telecom Italia falling 4.6% after a report said Italy's state lender plans to drop its 19.3 billion euros ($21 billion) offer for the company's landline network.

In the UK, Vodafone slid 3.9% after its new boss Margherita Della Valle said she would cut 11,000 jobs over three years to simplify the telecoms group and warned of a 1.5 billion euro decline in free cash flow this year.

Embracer Group tumbled 11.6% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after the Swedish game developer lowered its full-year adjusted EBIT forecast.

Investors are now awaiting a flash estimate of euro zone GDP, Italy's April inflation reading and Germany's ZEW economic sentiment survey for May later in the day. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)