Europe open: Markets lower as Sino-US trade remains in focus
European stocks were lower on Tuesday morning despite US President Trump bolstering hopes for a trade deal with China, as investors eyed the continued push for a general election in the UK.
At 0851 GMT, the Stoxx 600 was 0.3% lower at 397.68, as Germany's Dax dropped by 0.2% to 12,913.36 and the French CAC 40 fell by 0.2% to 5,718.15. In London, the FTSE 100 was down by 0.4% at 7,299.05.
Sino-US trade optimism received another shot in the arm after Donald Trump said Washington is "ahead of schedule" to sign "a very big portion of the China deal" at next month’s APEC summit in Chile.
CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "The optimism surrounding the US-China trade story helped equity markets in Europe, but the real benefit was seen in markets, where the S&P 500 plus the NASDAQ 100 registered fresh record highs.
"It is worth remembering the US-China trade deal was nearly wrapped up in May, but the talks turned sour, so nothing is a done deal until it is signed."
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to make a fourth attempt to call an early general election on 12 December, his most recent effort having failed to secure the necessary two-thirds majority in a vote on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, the SNP and Liberal Democrats want to push for a 9 December election that would not allow the government enough time to force the latest Brexit deal through parliament.
Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said: "You have to think in all likelihood it's going to be Dec 9th, given that SNP and Lib Dems won't want the bill to get through. However, they may back a vote on Dec 12th as long as there is no risk of the deal being pushed through before MPs break up.
"Then there are questions over amending an election bill to include 16-17 year olds and/or EU citizens. What Labour wants or plans remains a mystery. But the complete breakdown in constitutional norms is rather shocking."
Among individual stocks, Fresenius topped the Stoxx 600 after the German healthcare group beat third-quarter revenue forecasts on the back of a strong performance in emerging markets.
Straumann rose after it hiked its outlook for annual organic revenue growth and confirmed it would buy US dental product manufacturer Bay Materials.
Finnish paper manufacturer Stora Enso was the top faller after it missed third-quarter sales and operating profit expectations, and warned that growth in demand will decelerate.
Other paper-based product manufacturers such as Mondi and Smurfit Kappa were also in the red.