Europe: Shares open lower

[MILAN] European shares fell slightly on Wednesday in a broad-based pullback as escalating tensions in Syria added to market worries, although solid results from Tesco and strength among telecoms stocks helped limit losses.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.35 per cent by 0715 GMT with most sectors trading in negative territory, while Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE also slipped slightly following strong gains on Tuesday.

Tesco was the top STOXX gainer, up 3.7 per cent after the British retailer beat guidance with a 28 per cent rise in full-year profit, underlining the recovery under CEO Dave Lewis.

Deutsche Telekom rose 3.9 percent after reports that Sprint had restarted talks to merge with the German group's US unit T-Mobile US Inc. Its gains lifted the telecoms index up 0.8 per cent, making it the biggest sectoral gainer in Europe.

Still in earnings, a solid update lifted shares in Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut up 2.6 per cent, while CHR Hansen fell 4 per cent after it missed second-quarter profit forecasts.

REUTERS