European shares dip ahead of Powell's testimony

European shares opened marginally lower on Tuesday, with technology stocks leading declines ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony, while luxury stocks gave back gains on bleak China data. The pan-European STOXX 600 index dipped 0.1% by 0816 GMT, with the rate-sensitive tech sector index down 0.8%. China-exposed luxury giant LVMH fell 0.8%, weighing the most on the benchmark STOXX 600 index.

European shares opened marginally lower on Tuesday, with technology stocks leading declines ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony, while luxury stocks gave back gains on bleak China data.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index dipped 0.1% by 0816 GMT, with the rate-sensitive tech sector index down 0.8%. Powell's testimony before Congress, set to begin at 1500 GMT (10 am EST), is keenly awaited for insights into the Fed's next move on interest rates.

Trade data from China showed a fall in exports and imports for the January-February period and pointed to continued weakness in demand for the country's products. China-exposed luxury giant LVMH fell 0.8%, weighing the most on the benchmark STOXX 600 index. In a bright spot, Europe's biggest online fashion retailer, Zalando, reversed course to trade 4.8% higher.

The company provided a cautious outlook for 2023, but said it would continue to focus on improving profitability this year, including by cutting several hundred jobs across many of its teams as announced last month.