European stocks decline due to weak earnings

European stocks fell on Wednesday, as weak profits from a group of companies dampened sentiment, while global markets awaited inflation data due this week in the United States and Europe for new clues about interest rate expectations.

According to Reuters, the European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.1% by 0820 GMT.

The technology companies sub-index fell 0.6%, affected by a 2% decline in the shares of ASM International, a Dutch semiconductor equipment maker, after fourth-quarter revenues declined on an annual basis.

The British company Reckitt did not achieve the expected net sales for the fourth quarter, and attributed this to a decline in sales of products related to the cold and flu season. The consumer goods company’s shares fell 8.8%, while the index of personal and household goods companies generally fell 0.7%, leading to losses in the sector.

The shares of the French payment and transaction services company Worldline fell 13.4 percent after announcing an annual loss of 1.15 billion euros.

On the data front, investors are awaiting February consumer confidence index data in the euro zone, which is scheduled to be released at 1000 GMT.