European markets to open lower; Apple releases latest iPhone

European markets were set to open lower on Wednesday morning, despite record highs on Wall Street following the release of Apple’s latest iPhone.

Britain’s FTSE 100 is seen 14 points lower at 7,391; the German DAX is expected to open down by around 18 points at 12,505 and the French CAC is poised to open 4 points lower.

In the U.S., the S&P 500, Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq composite all surged to record finishes on Tuesday as investor concerns regarding North Korea and Hurricane Irma appeared to fade.

However, gains on Wall Street were capped by a decline in Apple’s shares. The stock fell around 0.6 percent amid disappointment the company would not begin taking orders for its eagerly awaited iPhone X model until October.

On the data front, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is due to release its monthly oil report at around 9 a.m. London time on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to arrive in London for a U.K.-hosted meeting on Libya and North Korea.

Despite cooling tensions regarding the Korean peninsula, investors remained wary of another geopolitical flare-up. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that United Nations sanctions imposed on Pyongyang this week were a “very small step” and “nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen” to combat the isolated regime’s nuclear program.

North Korea promised to double down its efforts to fight off what it said was a potential threat of U.S. invasion. Source: CNBC

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