London, Riyadh, 17 Dhu-AlHijjah,1436 AH , 01 October,2015, SPA -- European shares gave up some ground by midday on Thursday as gains by oil and gas stocks were offset by a fall in telecoms and both Glencore and Volkswagen turned lower, Reuters reported. European stocks had been supported by rising Asian and U.S. equities, with some traders viewing more weak Chinese data as a sign that Beijing may do more to bolster the country's economy. But shares in Altice fell 8.5 percent after the telecoms group announced a capital increase to help fund its takeover of Cablevision. Deutsche Telekom lost 2.5 percent and Telecom Italia was down 3 percent, both helping drag down their national blue-chip indexes. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.47 percent. The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index was flat. Germany's DAX fell 0.43 percent. European markets have lost ground in recent months, hit by a slowdown in China. The FTSEurofirst fell nearly 10 percent in the last quarter and the DAX is some 20 percent below a record high set in April. Chinese manufacturing activity shrank again in September as demand softened at home and abroad. But oil and metals prices rose as traders said the weak data from China would reinforce the need for Beijing to introduce more economic stimulus. -- SPA 17:00 LOCAL TIME 14:00 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w