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STOXX 600 down 0.1

Dec 23 Reuters Europe39;s STOXX 600 was slightly down at the start of a holidayshortened week, after clocking its steepest weekly drop since early September, but a spike in Novo Nordisk shares boosted the healthcare sector and capped losses on the main stock index.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 was down 0.1 as of 0850 GMT amid a light event calendar, with trading volumes expected to be low ahead of the Christmas break.

Leading sectoral declines, travel and leisure fell nearly 2, hit by a 10 slide in Swedish online gaming company Evolution. Media was also among the worsthit subindexes, down 1.

However, Novo Nordisk soared 9.2, aiding a 1.4 jump in the healthcare subindex.

This comes after the drugmaker39;s disappointing results for experimental obesity drug CagriSema wiped out as much as 125 billion off its market value on Friday, down nearly 21. Separately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novo Nordisk39;s bleeding disorder drug Alhemo.

Volkswagen shed 1.2, erasing early gains that came after the automaker struck a deal with unions after months of talks.

Direct Line rose 3 on British insurer Aviva39;s plans to buy the company in a 3.7 billion pound 4.65 billion cashandstock deal.

Meanwhile, European…