European stocks open lower, softer German GDP weighs

The stocks on the European bourses opening the day sharply lower largely dragged by renewed sell-off in oil prices and disappointing German growth numbers. The German economy grew 0.4% during the second quarter of 2016, confirming the preliminary estimate published by Destatis earlier this August.

Moreover, increasing cautiousness in markets ahead of Yellen’s speech on Friday, also weighed down on the European markets amid a choppy trading week so far.

Meanwhile, Germany's DAX 30 index drops -0.45% to 10,544, while the UK's FTSE 100 index trades -0.31% lower at 6,846. Among the other indices, the French CAC 40 index loses -0.51% to 4,400, while the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 index declines -0.51% to 2,980.