The pan-European STOXX 600 shed 0.5% by 0710 GMT, falling for a second straight session after the index marked its longest winning streak in over a decade.
Tighter scrutiny of China’s internet sector, nationwide lockdown in New Zealand and movement restrictions in several Asian countries kept investors on edge even as European economies continued to recover from the pandemic-driven downturn.
Dutch tech firm Prosus, which has a stake in Chinese tech giant Tencent, fell 4.2%.
Economically sensitive cyclical sectors such as
and gas , travel and leisure, automakers and banks led the early declines.
UK-listed shares of miner BHP Group jumped 8.6% after it posted its best annual profit in nearly a decade and said it would sell its petroleum assets to Woodside Petroleum.
