European shares edge lower ahead of key economic data

European stocks inched lower on Tuesday and were on track for the fourth straight session of losses, hurt by a decline in technology and financial services shares, ahead of key euro zone economic data due later in the day. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1% by 9:18 GMT, following a 0.4% decline in technology shares.

European stocks inched lower on Tuesday and were on track for the fourth straight session of losses, hurt by a decline in technology and financial services shares, ahead of key euro zone economic data due later in the day.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1% by 9:18 GMT, following a 0.4% decline in technology shares. The financial services index lost 0.5%, weighed down by a 1.6% fall in Partners Group after the Swiss investment firm reported a flat annual profit.

Oil and gas shares led sectoral gains with a 0.7% rise. "The increasing intensity of Ukrainian missile attacks on Russian oil refineries has put a floor under oil prices ... negative sentiment towards demand growth, which was keeping a cap on oil has also loosened," David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said.

On the data front, investors will keep an eye out for fourth-quarter euro zone data on wages and labour costs, along with Germany's ZEW economic sentiment survey for March, all due for 1000 GMT. However, the focus remains on the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision on Wednesday, after last week's hotter-than-expected inflation data prompted traders to reduce their bets for a June interest rate cut.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to hold rates, with all eyes on its economic projections and how many rate cuts it estimates for the year. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank looks poised to initiate the rate-cut cycle in June after a string of policymakers hinted at such a possibility, including ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos.

Property platform Hemnet rose 6.0% to the top of STOXX 600 after Jefferies raised its rating on the stock, while HelloFresh shares dropped 2.6% after Barclays downgraded the German meal-kit maker. Unilever rose 3.8% after the company said it plans to spin off its ice cream unit into a standalone business, as the consumer goods group announced a new cost-savings programme that would cut 7,500 jobs.

Atos shares fell 19.1% after the company said Airbus had called off discussions about potentially buying the French software firm's BDS cybersecurity unit.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)