23.08.201721:07:00UTC+00European Shares Drop, Pulled Down by Media Stocks

European markets fell, weighed down by media stocks as shares of advertising giant WPP tumbled after it trimmed sales forecasts on weakening demand.

Investors will focus on monetary policy ahead of the beginning of the central bank symposium in Jackson Hole.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index and euro zone chips both lost 0.5 percent.

The world's biggest advertising group WPP plunged 10.9 percent after it trimmed its full-year sales outlook following a decline in demand which caused it to miss first-half targets. It has been among the worst-performing stocks in the sector index. WPP has dropped 4.8 percent overall in 2017 against the wider European market.

The media sector index was down 2.7 percent, with WPP's French peer Publicis falling 3.2 percent.

The travel and leisure sector also tumbled lower, ending the day down by nearly 1.5 percent as it struggled to recover from losses. Ryanair and Easyjet fell 2.2 percent and 1.7 percent respectively.

Fiat Chrysler rose 5.8 percent at an all-time peak on speculation regarding potential tie-ups. Morgan Stanley and Jefferies also improved their target price for the stock.

Provident Financial climbed 12 percent after closing off by over 66 percent in the session earlier. The subprime lender trimmed all of its losses from morning deals to touch the top of the European benchmark by close of play.