Sanction worries weigh on European shares

European shares retreated from over six-week highs on Wednesday as the United States and its allies were likely to futher economically isolate Russia by imposing more sanctions, bolstering global inflation.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.3%, joining Wall Street and Asia stocks as worries about an aggressively hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve also weighed.

Technology and consumer discretionary stocks were the biggest drags on the index.

Raising worries about slowing growth, data on Wednesday showed German industrial orders fell more than expected in February on weaker demand from abroad as supply shortages, exploding energy prices and uncertainty linked to Ukraine war subdued manufacturing activity.

Among individual stocks, Danish wind turbine maker Vestas fell 2.3% after it said that it would withdraw from Russia, where the firm has two factories.

French stocks fell 0.3% after marking their worst session in nearly one month on Tuesday.

President Emmanuel Macron would beat Marine Le Pen in France's presidential election, leading the first round on April 10 and winning later on April 24, a poll showed, though Le Pen has gained ground in recent weeks.