European shares open marginally lower; H&M's September sales slide

The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged down 0.1% by 0705 GMT and was on track to extend losses to a fifth session, while Germany's DAX eased 0.2%. German consumer sentiment is set to fall in October, as persistently high inflation encourages people to save and blots out chances of a recovery before the end of the year, a GfK institute survey found.

European shares opened slightly lower on Wednesday amid persistent concerns about economic growth in China and fears about central banks keeping interest rates higher for longer. The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged down 0.1% by 0705 GMT and was on track to extend losses to a fifth session, while Germany's DAX eased 0.2%.

German consumer sentiment is set to fall in October, as persistently high inflation encourages people to save and blots out chances of a recovery before the end of the year, a GfK institute survey found. H&M fell 1.0% after it said sales slumped in September, as the world's second-biggest fashion retailer reported a slightly bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit boosted by cost cuts.

Shares of NN Group fell nearly 7% after it disagreed with an interim judgement on unit-linked insurances sold by the company. The risk premium of Italian government debt over German hit its highest since May on Wednesday ahead of Italy's announcement of its budget plan.