Europe open: Shares slip ahead of US CPI data

European shares were lower at the open on Wednesday ahead of US inflation data.

The pan-European Stoxx was 600 index dipped 0.22% in early deals. Investors are fretting over the implications a hot US consumer price index would have for future interest rate rises.

“We're seeing plenty of apprehension ahead of the US inflation report on Wednesday, with Asia in the red and Europe following suit,” said OANDA analyst Craig Erlam.

“It's impossible to get away from the fact that the inflation report has held the markets back this week. There's clearly a desperate desire to be more optimistic about the outlook; that's evident from the scale of the recovery already seen in equity markets despite there being seemingly little to celebrate.”

In Germany, the annual inflation rate slightly declined in July to 7.5% from 7.6 in the previous month, according to official estimates released.

Among equity stocks, shares in Ahold Delhaize gained 6% after the the Dutch company said it was postponing plans for an initial public offering of its non-food retailer, Bol.com, because of unfavourable market conditions.

Wind turbine maker Vestas gained, despite reporting a bigger-than-expected second-quarter operating loss hit by higher costs.

British insurer Aviva rose as it said it planned to returned more cash to investors after posting a better-than-expected 14% rise in first-half operating profit.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti at Sharecast.com