Europe's fourth quarter company earnings growth expectations slashed yet again

LONDON (Reuters) - European companies listed on the STOXX 600 index are expected to report 3.6 percent year-on-year earnings growth in the fourth quarter, sharply lower than the 4.8 percent forecast last week, according to I/B/E/S Refinitiv.

The new estimate confirms a sharp downward trend and amounts to about a third of the earnings growth levels forecast in November. On January 15, the forecast still stood at 6 percent.

The revision comes after 26 STOXX 600 companies reported results so far this earnings season with 50 percent exceeding analyst estimates. This is in line with a typical quarter, Refinitiv analysts said in a note.

(Reporting by Julien Ponthus, editing by Helen Reid)