European markets muted as Trump’s trade comments dampen sentiment

European markets made a muted start to Wednesday’s session as comments from U.S. President Donald Trump reignited fears over trade.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 traded just below the flatline after the opening bell, oil and gas stocks tumbling 1.2% while household goods were the strongest early performers with a 0.5% rise.

Market focus is largely attuned to the U.S.-China trade spat. President Trump on Tuesday said that the U.S. and China still have a “long way to go” on trade, adding that Washington could slap tariffs on an additional $325 billion in Chinese goods “if we want.”

Trump’s comments come after both countries agreed not to ratchet up trade tensions in an effort to restart talks. Washington and Beijing have slapped tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of each other’s imports since last year.

Meanwhile, earnings are also in focus for investors. In Europe, Aker Solutions will post its latest financials, while stateside a slew of corporate results are due, with Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, IBM, and Netflix all set to report.

In terms of data, Italian industrial sales, British inflation and euro zone inflation figures will be released Wednesday morning.

Elsewhere, finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G-7) will meet in France, with U.S.-Sino trade tensions, France’s digital tax and Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency expected to be on the agenda.

Source: CNBC