European shares slip on global tech slump; Zalando down on regulator action

June 26 (Reuters) - European shares opened lower on Friday, with technology shares tracking global sector weakness, while Zalando fell after Germany's financial regulator launched a probe into the retailer's accounts.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.46% at 637.27, as of 0711 GMT, retreating from a record-high close in the previous session. The benchmark, however, is on track for a weekly gain.

Shares of Zalando fell 4.4% after BaFin launched an investigation into the online fashion retailer's 2025 financial statements, citing evidence the company breached accounting regulations.

The broader retail sector lost 0.5%.

Meanwhile, uncertainty around the global technology sector prevailed, with investors focused on a surge in memory chip costs as a result of strong AI-driven demand. Asian equities fell sharply overnight, while Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq futures lost about 1%. 

In Europe, the tech sector fell 1.5%. 

Chipmakers Infineon and STMicroelectronics slipped 2.9% and 3.2%, respectively. On the other hand, semiconductor equipment makers BE Semiconductor and ASML dropped 3.5% and 1.2%, respectively. 

Telecom companies Ericsson and Nokia were down 1% and 2.1%, respectively.

Auto stocks also came under pressure, falling 0.4%, as investors assessed the potential impact of higher memory-chip costs.

(Reporting by Utkarsh Hathi and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)