Europe open: Stoxx down as investors eye Powell remarks; Oil slumps 3%

(Sharecast News) - European shares opened lower as investors digested another dump of corporate earnings and GDP data from the UK.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.38% at 541 with major regional bourses following suit.

Oil prices dropped more than 3% to just above $61 a barrel on a potential U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that could ease sanctions and boost supply of crude. The news hit oil majors, with BP and Shell both down.

Investors are awaiting remarks from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell later in the day along with US retail sales data

In economic news, Britain's economy posted a surprise 0.7% expansion in the first quarter, although economists warned that they expected growth to moderate later in the year after the impact of US tariffs became clearer.

On the equities front, Serco shares jumped as the UK government contractor won three deals worth more than �1bn with the Royal Navy.

Merck fell as the German pharmaceutical company cut its full-year outlook on Thursday amid macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty and foreign-exchange headwinds.

3i fell after posting results and Siemens was also down despite forecasting an increase in full-year sales by between 3% - 7% as it reported better-than-expected profit during its second quarter.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com