The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.35 percent by 0715 GMT with most sectors trading in negative territory, while Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE also slipped slightly following strong gains on Tuesday.
Tesco was the top STOXX gainer, up 3.7 percent after the British retailer beat guidance with a 28 percent rise in full-year profit, underlining the recovery under CEO Dave Lewis.
Deutsche Telekom rose 3.9 percent after reports that Sprint had restarted talks to merge with the German group's US unit T-Mobile US Inc. Its gains lifted the telecoms index up 0.8 percent, making it the biggest sectoral gainer in Europe.
Still in earnings, a solid update lifted shares in Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut up 2.6 percent, while CHR Hansen fell 4 percent after it missed second-quarter profit forecasts.