By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks moved sharply lower amid a broader selloff in Europe, with travel stocks and health-care companies posting some of the biggest losses. Rio Tinto PLC curbed losses for the FTSE 100 after confirming it rebuffed a takeover proposal from Glencore PLC in July.

The FTSE 100 index slumped 1% to 6,495.58 falling alongside the other major benchmarks in Europe. The weakness came after another reading on the German industrial sector confirmed that the eurozone's largest economy is losing steam.

Industrial production data for the U.K. showed factory outputs slowed in August to 0.1% growth, driven by weaker exports and auto makers shutting down during the summer.

Among major decliners in the FTSE, shares of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (ICAGY), parent of British Airways and Iberia, slid 6.9% amid fears that an Ebola case in Madrid could cause travel disruptions. Shares of easyJet PLC lost 5.3%, while travel operator TUI Travel PLC dropped 3.9%.

Health-care companies declined after Morgan Stanley cut the sector to underweight. Shares of Shire PLC lost 2.5%, GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) fell 1.9% and AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) shaved off 1.4%.

Rio Tinto (RIO) added 0.8% after the miner said a deal with Glencore wasn't in the best interests of shareholders, and that there had been no contact with the commodities producer and trader since early August. The deal would have been one of the biggest in mining history, creating a company worth about $160 billion.

"No discussions are taking place with Glencore," Rio Tinto said in a statement. Glencore confirmed later in the trading day on Tuesday that it is no longer actively considering a merger with Rio Tinto.

Glencore shares were down 2.5% Tuesday.

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