ERIC Ericsson

Technology companies dragged down European stocks early Wednesday, while the British pound began to stabilize from steep overnight swings.

The Stoxx Europe 600 inched down 0.2% in the early minutes of trading as declines in the technology sector kept the broader index subdued. Shares of Ericsson AB fell over 15% after the Swedish company issued a profit warning for the third quarter, a week after announcing plans to slash almost 20% of its domestic workforce.

In currencies, the pound was last up 0.1% to $1.2257 after four consecutive days of losses sent sterling to a new three-decade low on Tuesday.

The British currency had fallen sharply late Tuesday, but recovered during Asian trading hours, rising more than 1.5% against the dollar, after media reports suggested that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May had agreed to hold a parliamentary vote on her plans for taking Britain out of the European Union. Investors said the development could limit her ability to push for a "hard Brexit," which is seen as negative for the currency.

The WSJ Dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of 16 currencies, inched down 0.2% on Wednesday after its biggest daily gain since August.

Elsewhere, shares in Asia were mostly lower as expectations rose for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in December. Markets in Japan and Hong Kong were both off roughly 1%, after Wall Street closed in negative territory.

Hiroyuki Kachi and Matthias Verbergt contributed to this article.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 12, 2016 04:25 ET (08:25 GMT)

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