(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window) Jan 18 (Reuters) - European stocks slipped on Monday as French retailer Carrefour tumbled after ending 16.2 billion euro ($19.57 billion) merger talks with Alimentation Couche-Tard, with worries about a slow economic recovery keeping investors on edge. The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.2% by 0810 GMT, extending losses from Friday when the benchmark index snapped a four weeks of gains. A better-than-expected quarterly rebound for China’s economy failed to excite investors who feared that soaring COVID-19 cases and tight restrictions in continent could dent growth in the first quarter. Carrefour fell 5.9% in early deals after its takeover talks with Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard failed and the two sides decided to work on partnership opportunities. The stock had shed nearly a third of its gains after the French government opposed the deal last week. Shares in carmaker Stellantis rose almost 3% in its first day of trading in the Paris stock market on the completion of merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)