European shares open lower as Barclays, Kering fall

(Reuters) - European shares opened lower on Wednesday after British lender Barclays slid on disappointing earnings and French luxury group Kering reported a slump in Gucci revenues.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index dipped 0.3%, with Barclays falling 8.1% to the bottom of the index.

European banks dropped 1.1% after the UK bank reported a 14% fall in annual profits due to an administrative blunder that saw it oversell securities in the United States and lower deal fees.

Shares of French luxury group Kering fell 2.7% as its fourth-quarter sales fell 7%, dragged lower by a slump in revenues at its biggest brand Gucci as COVID-19 disruptions in China hit its business hard.

The European basic resources sector index slid 2.0%, with a 2.7% fall in miner Glencore weighing.

Investors will also be eying U.S. retail sales data for the month of January later in the day.

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru)