European shares open lower as LEG Immobilien tumbles

(Reuters) - European shares opened lower on Thursday, with German real estate firm LEG Immobilien hitting the bottom of the benchmark STOXX 600 index on dividend suspension, while investors also fretted about interest rates staying higher for longer.

Shares of LEG Immobilien tumbled 10.6% in early trading as the company suspended its dividend after posting full-year results.

The STOXX 600 index dropped 0.4%, with real estate stocks down 1.7%.

European shares fell after closing higher in the previous session likely buttressed by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments that the U.S. central bank had not decided on the size of this month's rate hike.

But worries lingered after stronger-than-expected U.S. data supported views that the Fed could keep raising rates.

European miners slid 2.0% after prices of copper fell as the dollar hovered near a three-month high. [MET/L]

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)