Doha: European stocks edged down slightly on Monday, as a decline in consumer-staples companies erased gains in the industrial and healthcare sectors, while investors awaited this week's monetary-policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve.

According to Qatar News Agency, the pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.2 percent to 577.98 points, and major European indexes such as Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Shares of essential consumer-goods companies put the most pressure on the index, with Unilever falling 3.1 percent after the consumer-goods giant completed its separation from Magnum ice cream, which is scheduled to be listed under the name Magnum Ice Cream.

L'Oreal lost 1.6 percent after the French company said it would raise its stake in the Swiss skincare firm Galderma to 20 percent.

On the other hand, industrial and healthcare stocks each rose by 0.1 percent, limiting the declines.