Europe close: Stocks dip amid US-China trade concerns
European stocks were slightly lower on Thursday as investors feared a new law passed in Washington could scupper progress made in trade negotiations with Beijing.
"But the speed with which everyone has rushed to declare the event as a mortal risk to trade talks should give investors pause for thought – China may be willing to let the move slide, if it remains purely symbolic, and it is not the obvious crises that turn into flashpoints," said IG's Chris Beauchamp.
"Only time will tell."
By the end of trading, the Stoxx 600 was 0.14% lower at 409.25, as Germany's Dax fell by 0.31% to 13,245.58 and the French CAC 40 dropped by 0.24% to 5,912.72. Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 was 0.18% weaker at 7,416.43.
Front month Brent crude oil futures weakened alongside equities, falling 0.723% to $63.60 a barrel on the ICE.
Overnight, US President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law, a bill that mandates an annual review of Chinese interference in the former British colony and is widely seen as being supportive of pro-democracy demonstrators.
The Chinese ministry of foreign affairs responded by accusing the US of having "sinister intentions", before warning that the new law would "only make the Chinese people more united and make the American plot doomed to fail".
In economic news, the European Central Bank reported a pick-up in the year-on-year rate of growth in so-called narrow money supply, or M1, in November of half a percentage point to 8.4%.
According to Claus Vistesen, chief Eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, historically such a "solid" clip had been consistent with a quarter-on-quarter rate of GDP growth of roughly 0.3% about six to nine months down the line.
"In other words, the M1 data suggest that the EZ economy will improve next year, not slide into recession as many surveys are still warning," he said.
Meanwhile, data from the European Commission showed that Eurozone economic sentiment rose by slightly more than expected in November, to 101.3 from last month's reading of 100.8.
Analysts from Oxford Economics said: "The relatively positive news [...] points to some stabilisation in economic activity - in line with our view that eurozone growth will remain broadly stable in the near-term, before improving slightly into 2020."
Among individual stocks, Telefonica rose after the Spanish company announced plans to split out part of its Latin American business as part of a strategy to generate more than €2bn a year in extra revenues by 2022.
Elekta dropped after the Swedish radiation therapy specialist said delayed installations had hampered its revenue growth and profitability in the second quarter, though profit and order intake was in line with revised expectations following strong growth in North America.
French spirits maker Remy Cointreau spilled lower after its first half operating profits declined, missing expectations.
Lufthansa was also in the red after US aviation authorities proposed a $6.4m civil penalty against the German airline due to accusations that it made hundreds of unapproved flights in the country.
CAC 40 - Risers
Capgemini (CAP) 108.80 +0.83%
Kering (KER) 551.90 +0.73%
Hermes International (RMS) 679.60 +0.50%
Veolia Environnement (VIE) 23.34 +0.43%
Atos (ATO) 77.62 +0.41%
Air Liquide (AI) 122.15 +0.29%
Legrand SA (LR) 72.16 +0.03%
Sanofi (SAN) 84.40 +0.02%
CAC 40 - Fallers
Credit Agricole (ACA) 12.46 -1.54%
Bouygues (EN) 36.77 -1.45%
Renault (RNO) 43.31 -1.45%
Carrefour (CA) 15.07 -1.18%
Societe Generale S.A. (GLE) 28.25 -1.09%
Peugeot (UG) 22.19 -1.07%
Vinci (DG) 98.86 -0.88%
Orange. (ORA) 14.89 -0.80%
Saint Gobain (SGO) 37.26 -0.79%
Sodexo (SW) 105.15 -0.76%