Europe midday: Stocks dip, international trade talks in the spotlight

Stocks on the Continent were trading slightly lower on Wednesday as investors sat on their hands ahead of the signing of the US-China trade deal scheduled for later in the day.

"A huge amount of good news has already been factored into the equity markets, so it is understandable that things are quiet ahead of the agreement being made official," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

"It was reported yesterday the tariffs will remain in place for at least 10 months after the signing of the deal, so US-China relations might settle down."

As of 1300 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was dipping 0.05% to 419.41, alongside a 0.12% drop in Germany's Dax to 13,440.17 while the FTSE Mibtel was falling 0.48% to 23,813.05.

Also weighing on sentiment was a weaker than expected print on UK consumer prices for December, which came in at up by 1.3% versus a year, which was less than November's pace of 1.5%, which economists had expected to remain unchanged.

On the heels of those numbers, Monetary Policy Committee member Michael Saunders warned that slow growth and a weaker jobs market could lead to a persistent output gap and sustained low prices.

Echoing the Uk data, in Spain, the national statistics office revised its estimate for the year-on-year rate of increase in consumer prices in December from 0.9% to 0.8%.

In the wake of those numbers, the Stoxx 600's bank sector gauge was weakest, falling 0.88% to 141.58.

Elsewhere on the economic side of things, Germany's Federal Office of Statistics reported that the country's economic growth slowed to just 0.6% in 2019 - the least in six years.

Danish food ingredients maker Chr Hansen was at the bottom of the pile on the Stoxx 600 after warning of a weaker outlook for various of its end markets, including dairy.

Italy's Atlantia fell after La Stampa reported that Rome was set to revoke the tollway operator's motorway concession, although lawmakers from the PD apparently harboured concerns.

Shares in various lenders, including Banco Sabadell, RBS and Commerzbank were all moving lower as well.