European stocks lower at opening, Heineken shares fall 5%

European stock markets traded lower during early deals on Monday as investors digested further earnings reports.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.2 percent lower with almost every sector in the red. Basic resources were the worst performers as trade concerns lingered and Asian stocks struggled during Monday’s session.

Several analysts claim the agreement reached last week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Europe over trade links is vague. Shares of BMW were marginally lower on Monday following news that it is set to become the first major carmaker to hike prices on U.S.-built vehicles it exports to China as the implications of the ongoing global trade war start to trickle through to consumers.

Market sentiment was also impacted by earnings after poor tech results in the U.S., which led U.S. stocks to close lower on Friday. Shares in the tech sector were also down by 0.8 percent in Europe, with Ingenico off by 2 percent.

In other earnings news, Heineken shares dropped above 5 percent on Monday morning after reporting lower-than-expected results for its second quarter and after cutting its margin outlook.

Deutsche Bank and Brexit

In the latest Brexit-related development, Deutsche Bank has moved nearly half of its euro clearing activities from London to Frankfurt, according to a report from the Financial Times on Sunday. The news fuels Deutsche Boerse’s designs to poach business from London Clearing House after the U.K. divorces from the European Union in March.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is to visit U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, while British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is to meet China’s Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing.

Source: CNBC