BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks were modestly lower on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam for directional cues.
The summit, due this week, will be focused on the denuclearization agreement that Trump and Kim signed in the Singapore summit last summer.
Also, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before a U.S. Senate committee later in the day, with investors awaiting fresh clues about the outlook for U.S. interest rates.
Powell is expected to stick to a patient stance on rate hikes, reflecting 'muted' inflation and geopolitical uncertainties.
The benchmark DAX was down 36 points or 0.31 percent at 11,469 in opening deals after gaining 0.4 percent in the previous session.
Suedzucker shed 0.8 percent after its supervisory board agreed on the restructuring plan for the sugar segment.
Chemicals group BASF rallied 2.4 percent despite the company posting a sharp drop in fourth-quarter earnings.
Aixtron slumped 8 percent after its fourth-quarter net result dropped 33 percent to 18.2 million euros from 27.2 million euros last year.
In economic releases, Germany's consumer confidence is set to hold steady in March, amid the sustained sharp decline in economic expectations and stable income expectations, survey data from the GfK revealed.
The forward-looking consumer confidence indicator showed a reading of 10.8 for March, same as in February. The outcome was in line with economists' expectations.
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