Europe open: Shares lower on US-China concerns

European shares were weaker at the open on Monday as the US-China trade spat showed no signs of a resolution.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.39% with all European bourses lower.

Investors were still waiting to see what counter-measures China will announce in retaliation for the increase in tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods implemented by the US on Friday.

London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler forecast three possible scenarios; a quck deal, “extensive further negotiations” resulting in agreement, or “the talks completely break down and a full-blown trade war ensues”.

“We are definitely not there yet. The base case scenario is that a deal will still be achieved, it is just going to take a lot longer than the market had been pricing in over recent months," he said.

Thyssenkrupp shares fell more than 7% after last week's news that it was looking for partners for its steel operations after a merger with India's Tata Steel fell through.

Centrica was among the risers, despite a warning that it faced a tough first half due to warmer weather, falling prices and a tariff cap imposed by the UK government.