Norway39;s Dec core inflation lower than expected
Italy39;s Campari falls after 1.3 bln placement
Swiss co Sika down after missing FY sales estimates
STOXX 600 down 0.2

Jan 10 Reuters European shares ended lower on Wednesday, with miners and travel stocks leading the fall, as optimism about early interest rate cuts continued to fade, while investors kept tabs on a key U.S. inflation print due later this week.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 ended 0.2 lower, with travel and leisure leading sectoral declines, falling 1.1. The basic resources index dipped 1.1 as well, its third straight day of losses.

Heavyweight energy shares lost 0.9, their fourth straight session in the red amid slipping oil prices.

Helping limit losses, the health care index continued its recent strong run, adding 0.3.

Meanwhile, European Central Bank ECB policymakers reaffirmed the bank39;s policy stance, saying the euro zone may have been in recession last quarter and prospects in the near term remain weak.

People were overly optimistic in expecting rate cuts, that39;s because the progression of inflation from September to November had been very swift, said Frédérique Carrier, head of investment strategy for RBC Wealth Management in the British Isles and Asia.

But the improvement in inflation has slowed somewhat … what39;s remarkable is that unemployment has not deteriorated, so that is giving the ECB some scope for patience.

Investor focus this week will be on the earnings season in the…