European stocks opened slightly lower, with L'Oréal down over 6% and aerospace company Safran up 7%

European stocks opened slightly lower, continuing to be affected by the decline in U.S. technology stocks. Investors are also digesting corporate earnings and awaiting the U.S. inflation data to be released later.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 0.4 points or less than 0.1%, to 618.12 points; the UK FTSE 100 index rose by 17 points or 0.2%, to 10,420 points; the French CAC 40 index fell by 31 points or 0.4%, to 8,309 points; the German DAX index fell by 18 points or less than 0.1%, to 24,834 points; the Spanish IBEX 35 index rose by 19 points or 0.1%, to 17,916 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index fell by 204 points or 0.4%, to 46,018 points.

In terms of individual stocks, L'Oréal's quarterly sales fell short of expectations, with its stock price dropping by 6.3%. The performance of Delivery Hero's Middle East operations was mixed, leading to a 7.5% drop in its stock price. French aerospace company Safran predicted an increase in revenue and profit this year, with its stock price rising by 6.9%.

In U.S. stock futures, the Dow Jones futures fell by 82 points or 0.2%, to 49,441 points; the S&P 500 futures fell by 9 points or 0.1%, to 6,841 points; the Nasdaq 100 futures fell by 37 points or 0.1%, to 24,731 points.

In the Asia-Pacific stock markets, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets each fell by 1.3%, Hong Kong stocks fell by 1.7%, Taiwan's stock market stopped trading before the Spring Festival, and the Japanese and South Korean stock markets fell by 1.2% and 0.3%, respectively. The latest declines in the Indian and Singaporean stock markets were 1.1% and 1.6%