Europe open: Stocks mixed amid negative headlines on trade

Stocks on the Continent are trading on a mixed note despite confirmation that the next round of trade talks between the US and China will still go ahead.

On Tuesday morning, China's Ministry of Commerce confirmed that the country's vice premier, Liu He, would head to Washington on Thursday, despite the US administration's decision to go ahead and raise tariffs on $200bn-worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% in response to what it said was Beijing's attempt to walk back on some of its already agreed commitments on trade.

"This feels very much like a measured reaction to Sunday’s surprise tweets from the president, with the outlook tempered by news that a Chinese delegation will still travel to Washington for more talks [...]," said IG's Chris Beauchamp.

"The rebound [in share prices] from the initial lows on Monday points to the strong bullish undercurrents in this market – plenty of investors missed the surge, and will be looking to buy on weakness regardless of how trade talks go."

As of 0915 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was edging up by 0.06% to 387.18, alongside a gain of 0.04% to 12,290.79 for the German Dax, but the FTSE Mibtel was sharply lower, shedding 1.10% to 21,525.44.

The French Cac-40 meanwhile was dipping 0.11% to 5,477.66 but the Ibex 35 was 0.51% ahead to 9,380.0, boosted by sharp gains for Cellnex.

Stock in Cellnex shot higher and was trading just below its 52-week high after announcing its intention to buy approximately 10,700 telecommunications masts in France, Italy and Switzerland from Iliad SA and Salt Mobile SA.

Shares of Iliad were also gaining on the back of the news, running up by 7%.

BMW on the other hand dipped after posting a 72% drop in first quarter net profits to €588m, as the carmaker booked a €1.4bn provision against an ongoing antitrust investigation by the European Commission and on the back of increased investment in property and plants as well as increased outlays on R&D.

Essilor Luxottica on the other hand was little changed even after the company kept its full-year outlook unchanged.

On the economic side of things, factory orders in Germany bounced in March by 0.6% month-on-month, underwhelming the consensus forecast for an increase of 1.4% and leaving them 6.0% lower versus a year ago.

In February they had fallen by 8.1%, amid weak demand from outside the single currency bloc.

"Looking ahead, the survey data have offered tentative signs of stabilisation, but they continue to paint a picture of recessionary conditions in German manufacturing," said Claus Vistesen at Pantheon Macroeconomics.