European stocks fall as recession fears ramp up

European shares were trading lower in early deals on Wednesday, led by losses in technology stocks, as fears that major economies might be on the brink of recession intensified.

A deep inversion in the U.S. Treasury yield curve once again rattled investors still worried about economic growth in the face of a U.S.-China trade war that is now in its second year and is weighing on the global economy.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.47 percent by 0715 GMT, with Germany's trade-sensitive DAX underperforming with a 0.54 percent drop.

The biggest fallers on the DAX were software provider SAP SE, chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG and payments company Wirecard AG. They were down between 0.9 percent and 1.2 percent.

Shares of British oil major BP Plc rose 1.1 percent and gave the biggest boost to the main index, after the company agreed to sell all its Alaskan properties for $5.6 billion to privately held Hilcorp Energy Co.