Europe open: Fed comments spook investors; BAE slips

European shares opened lower on Thursday as hawkish minutes of the US Federal Reserve's July meeting caused investors to fret that interest rates would stay elevated to combat persistent inflation.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.61% with all major regional bourses lower after most of the Fed's policy committee “continued to see significant upside risks to inflation” that could require further tightening of monetary policy.

"Minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting weighed on US markets, with the potential for further rate hikes still on the table. The Fed noted that inflation was still well above target and the labour market still tight, with most members seeing significant upside risks to inflation," said Interactive Investor head of markets Richard Hunter.

"In addition, with growth risks to the downside and inflation risks to the upside, the delicate balance between taming inflation and avoiding recession remain a live issue."

There were also worries about the state of China's financial services industry after wealth manager Zhongzhi Enterprise Group said it was facing a liquidity crisis, after missing payments to retail investors, and would have to restructure its debt.

In equity news, BAE Systems fell 3% after the UK defence giant said it had agreed to buy Ball Corp's aerospace assets for about $5.55bn.

Dutch payments firm Ayden slumped more than 20% after missing first-half earnings estimates.

Aegon fell 4.7% after the Dutch insurer reported first-half results.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com