European markets to open lower as US-China trade concerns resurface

European markets were seen opening lower on Wednesday amid concern that U.S.-China trade talks are stalling, while escalating unrest in Hong Kong looked set to blight the handover from Asia.

The FTSE 100 was seen around 31 points lower at 7,334, the DAX was set to open down around 62 points at 13,222 and the CAC 40 was expected to fall around 21 points to 5,899, according to IG data.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that the initial phase of a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies would be completed “soon” but offered no new details while branding China “cheaters.”

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led overnight losses in Asia, falling 1.76 percent after political tumult continued to paralyze the city following violent escalations earlier this week.

Back in Europe, ECB data showed that banks in Italy and other peripheral euro zone economies are capitalizing on the central bank’s bonus rate to seize tens of billions of euros from northern European rivals in Germany and the Netherlands, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

On the data front, a host of U.K. inflation figures for October are set for release at 9:30 a.m. London time, while corporate earnings will continue to affect individual stock prices, with Dutch bank ABN Amro reporting a 24 percent drop in third-quarter net profit before the bell.

Source: CNBC