(Reuters) – European shares edged lower at the open on Thursday, with real estate stocks leading declines, ahead of a closely watched reading on U.S. inflation to determine whether the Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary policy has taken hold.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.3% by 0814 GMT, after snapping a three-day winning streak on Wednesday.
European real estate stocks slid 1.7%, leading sectoral declines, with German housing group LEG Immobilien shedding 6.8% after slightly lowering its profit forecast for this year on rapidly increasing construction costs, rising interest rates and high energy prices.
In a bright spot, shares of Knorr Bremse advanced 5.3%, briefly to the top of the STOXX 600 after the German braking systems maker reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings.
As the U.S. midterm elections continued with no final results, investors looked towards U.S. consumer prices data later in the day, which will likely show a slowing in both the monthly and yearly core numbers for October, according to a Reuters poll.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
