European stocks opened slightly lower on Wednesday, led mainly by technology shares, while investors focused on a key U.S. inflation reading due later in the day that could change market expectations about the path of the U.S. central bank's interest rates.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1% by 0809 GMT, extending losses after falling about 2% on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The technology-heavy sector led the losses among the major subsectors, falling 0.9%, while the auto sector also fell 0.9%.
On the other hand, energy stocks rose 1.3%, while basic resources stocks rose 0.5%.
Siemens Energy shares jumped 19% after the utility supplier raised its medium-term profit margin target and set a new record for its order book.
RWE shares rose 7.9% after Germany's largest utility said it would buy back shares worth up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion).
Shares in Just Eat Takeaway surged 20.5% after Europe's largest meal delivery company said it had struck a deal to sell its US unit Grubhub to Wonder for $650 million.
The US inflation reading for October is due later today, while the minutes of the European Central Bank's last monetary policy meeting are due on Thursday.
Rising eurozone government bond yields also put pressure on stocks, which rose in line with their US counterparts.
