European equities slipped on Tuesday as escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing rattled investor sentiment, while ongoing political uncertainty in France added another layer of pressure on the region’s markets.
China’s Ministry of Commerce reiterated its willingness to negotiate but warned that discussions cannot proceed under threat. “If you wish to fight, we shall fight to the end; if you wish to negotiate, our door remains open,” the ministry stated in an official release.
Beijing also reportedly blamed Washington’s late-September expansion of restrictions on Chinese firms for heightening friction, prompting further controls over exports of rare earth minerals — key components for high-tech industries.
Market participants also weighed a batch of disappointing economic indicators and awaited comments from Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve System, along with earnings from several of Wall Street’s largest banks.
In Germany, consumer price inflation climbed for the second straight month in September, up 2.4% year-on-year, in line with preliminary estimates from Destatis. The harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) also accelerated to 2.4% from 2.1% in August. Meanwhile, the German ZEW economic sentiment index came in at 39.3, below forecasts of 40.5 for October.
In the U.K., the jobless rate edged up to 4.8% in the three months to August, compared with 4.7% in the previous period, according to the Office for National Statistics. Vacancies fell by 9,000 to 717,000, while payrolled employees declined by 31,000 over the June–August period.
By mid-morning, major European indexes were trading lower: the German DAX slid 1.3%, the French CAC 40 fell 1.0%, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.4%.
On the corporate front:
- Deutsche Telekom (TG:DTE) gained 1% after unveiling a strategic collaboration with Comcast Technology Solutions.
- TomTom (EU:TOM2) surged 8.3% after reporting third-quarter profit ahead of expectations.
- THG (LSE:THG) jumped 3.6% as it posted its strongest organic quarterly sales growth in four years.
- Bytes Technology Group (LSE:BYIT) plunged 10% after announcing a drop in interim profit, impacted by incentive changes at Microsoft.
- GSK (LSE:GSK) rose 1% following approval of its Shingrix vaccine in China.
- Bellway (LSE:BWY) climbed 5% on news of a £150 million share buyback program.
- BP (LSE:BP.) slipped 1.3% after reporting weak oil trading performance.
- Publicis Groupe (EU:PUB) added around 1% after beating third-quarter expectations and raising its full-year outlook.
- Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) soared 14% after posting stronger-than-expected earnings.
- Givaudan advanced (TG:GIN) 1.2% after reporting in-line sales figures.
The mix of geopolitical tension, soft economic data, and earnings reports set the tone for a cautious trading day across the continent.
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