The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2 percent in early trade, with autos down 1.4 percent and tech shares gaining 1.1 percent. Mixed trading for European shares comes after markets eased slightly on Tuesday, tracking risk sentiment globally as investors assess whether last month’s rally should continue further. It’s a busy day for earnings in Europe, with Commerzbank, SocGen, BMW, Banco BPM, Siemens Healthineers and Veolia and Wolters Kluwer among the companies reporting before the bell. Shares in Czech cybersecurity company Avast soared 42% after the UK competition regulator provisionally approved its $8.6 billion sale to US peer NortonLifeLock. At the bottom of the Stoxx 600, Siemens Healthineers fell 7.5% after its earnings report, while BMW fell 5%.

Overnight, Asia-Pacific shares were mostly higher on Wednesday, with mainland Chinese markets leading gains despite Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, which is closely watched by Beijing. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying tweeted that Pelosi’s visit was a “major political challenge,” while a spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said it would conduct “a series of joint military operations around the island of Taiwan from the evening of August 2nd. .” These operations include long-range live combat fire in the Taiwan Strait and the launch of conventional missile power, the statement said. On the data front, eurozone producer prices and retail sales are expected to be released for June. — CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel and Abigail Ng contributed to this report.