European stocks opened lower ahead of the beginning of the testimony of the US central bank chairman in Congress

European stocks recorded a slight decline in early trading on Tuesday, and technology stocks led the decline ahead of the beginning of the congressional testimony of Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, while luxury goods companies gave up gains due to gloomy Chinese data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.1% by 0816 GMT, with the technology stock index, which is highly sensitive to interest rate movements, down 0.8%.

Powell’s congressional testimony, which is scheduled to begin at 1500 GMT, is of interest as it will include hints of the Fed’s next move on interest rates.

Chinese trade data showed both exports and imports fell in January and February, indicating continued weakness in demand for the country’s products.