Europe close: Stocks finish slightly lower, China and US tax proposals in focus

European stocks ended the session slighty lower in the wake of weaker-than-expected data on Chinese foreign trade and ahead of tax reform proposals from the US Senate which were expected on Thursday.

At the closing bell, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was 0.05% or 0.20 points lower to 394.45, alongside a marginal advance of 0.02% or 3.15 points for the German Dax which was at 13,382.42.

The FTSE Mibtel meanwhile fell 0.57% or 131.29 points to 22,831.30.

In parallel, euro-dollar was edging higher by 0.01% to 1.1592 and January-dated Brent crude oil futures 0.39% down at $63.44 on the ICE.

The rate of growth in Chinese exports slipped from a 9.0% pace year-on-year for September to 6.1% in October (consensus: 7.0%), while import growth cooled from a 19.5% clip to 17.5% (consensus: 17.0%).

Yet according to Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics the chief factor behind the 'miss' in Wednesday's figures was the shift in the Mid-Autumn festival this year.

"The upshot is that, after adjusting for seasonal factors and price effects, both outbound and inbound shipments appear to have softened recently. Looking ahead, we expect any further weakening of exports to remain mild given the relatively upbeat outlook for growth in China’s main trading partners," said Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics.

Back in Europe, Spain's national statistics office, INE, reported that the country's industrial production grew at a 3.4% clip year-on-year in September (consensus: 3.2%).

Meanwhile, in France, Finance Ministry data revealed a seasonally adjusted -€4.7bn shortfall on the foreign trade balance in September, as expected by economists.