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April 20 (Reuters) - European shares pulled back on Tuesday after hitting record highs a day earlier, as tobacco companies weighed on UK stocks and many regional indexes edged off pre-pandemic highs.
Shares of British American Tobacco BATS.L , Imperial Brands IMB.L and Swedish Match SWMA.ST fell between 1.7% and 5.6% in early trading following a report the Biden administration was considering requiring tobacco companies to lower the nicotine levels in all cigarettes sold in the United States. blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE fell 0.4%, Germany's DAX .GDAXI was flat and France's CAC 40 .FCHI slipped 0.3%.
The pan-regional STOXX 600 index .STOXX dropped 0.2% by 0707 GMT. The benchmark has hit a series of all-time highs this month after having climbed more than 10% so far in 2021.
French food group Danone DANO.PA slipped 0.9% even as it kept its goal of returning to profitable growth in the second half of 2021. medical gear maker Getinge GETIb.ST jumped 7.7% after it posted a rise in first-quarter core profit.