Europe open: Markets drop amid Sino-US uncertainty, tobacco stocks rise
European stocks were lower on Thursday morning, following mixed messages on Sino-US trade as lawmakers in Washington passed a bill that could be a stumbling block for negotiations.
At 0918 GMT, the Stoxx 600 was down by 0.8% at 400.42, as Germany's Dax dropped by 0.8% to 13,055.00 and the French CAC 40 slid by 0.9% to 5,840.18. Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 was 0.8% lower at 7,204.22.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said in a dinner speech on Wednesday night that he was "cautiously optimistic" about negotiations, but Reuters reported that the signing of an initial deal might not take place this year.
Meanwhile, further progress in Sino-US trade negotiations has been complicated after the US Senate passed legislation aimed at protecting the rights of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "The Hong Kong angle has added weight to the argument that the US and China might not sign phase one of the trade agreement by the end of 2019. Significant progress has been made in recent weeks, but it is worth remembering the discussions were ‘about 90%’ complete in May, according to Steve Mnuchin."
Among individual stocks, Tobacco companies British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands and Swedish Match were all in the green after US health regulators shelved measures that would have forced companies to cut nicotine in cigarettes to "non-addictive" levels.
German engineering firm Thyssenkrupp tumbled after scrapping its dividend after its full year net loss widened from €62.0m to €304.0m.
Shares in car manufacturer Fiat Chrysler were also lower after US contemporary General Motors lodged a lawsuit against the company and accused it of bribing officials from the United Autoworkers Union.
Danish insurance companies Topdanmark and Tryg both climbed after analysts at Nordea raised their rating for the duo from 'hold' to 'buy'.