European shares open lower as fashion retailers slide after results

European shares opened lower on Wednesday as declines in Inditex and H&M, two of the world's largest fashion retailers, weighed down the broader retailing sector index.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was 0.2% lower by 0815 GMT, with the retailers index down 1.9%.

Shares of Zara-owner Inditex, the world's biggest fashion retailer, fell over 3% at the opening bell. The company had posted a 27% net profit increase in 2022.


H&M, the world's No.2 fashion retailer, reported a 12% increase in December-February net sales, but analysts said the results were 'somewhat disappointing'. Shares of H&M fell more than 5%.

The pessimism on the European retailers' results overshadowed hopes of smaller interest rate hikes and cautious optimism about the U.S. banking sector.

European shares posted their biggest single-day gain in nearly three months on Tuesday, on growing hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will tone down its rate-hiking spree in the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank's (SVB) collapse.