European stocks opened lower on Wednesday as a rally driven by a Chinese stimulus package ran out of steam, while technology and oil stocks added to the losses.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.3 percent to 518.06 points by 0712 GMT, after rising nearly 1 percent in the previous session.
In Asia, Chinese stocks continued their economic stimulus-fueled rally for the second day in a row, but other markets were volatile and mixed.
Shares in Germany's SAP fell 3.5 percent after a report that the software developer is under investigation in the United States over suspicions of price fixing, the biggest drag on the index and also dragged the technology sub-index down 0.8 percent.
The oil and gas sector led the decline in the sub-sectors, down 0.9 percent, on concerns that China's stimulus plans will not be enough to boost demand.
France's CAC 40 index fell 0.7 percent after rising more than 1 percent in the previous session. Data showed consumer confidence in the country rose in September.
Official data showed that the producer price index in Sweden rose 0.6 percent in August compared to July, and the market index there was stable.
Shares in Finnish engineering firm Valmet jumped 9.2 percent after it won an order worth more than 1 billion euros in Brazil.
