BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks look set to open on subdued note Thursday as U.S.-North Korea summit entered second day and a report showed China's manufacturing sector shrank in February for the third straight month.
Asian stocks struggled for traction as comments from a key U.S. official dented some of the recent optimism about the U.S.-China trade talks.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that China needs to go beyond pledging to buy more U.S. goods to reach to a long-term trade agreement.
Investors also digested weak manufacturing data from China. The official manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.2 in February from 49.5 in the previous month, as export orders fell to the lowest level since the global crisis.
The non-manufacturing PMI came in with a score of 54.3 in February - shy of expectations for 54.5 and down from 54.7 in the previous month.
The U.S. dollar recouped losses after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers Wednesday that the central bank will stop shrinking its $4 trillion balance sheet later this year.
Elsewhere, the pound held gains after the U.K. Parliament voted in favor of Prime Minister Theresa May's offer for lawmakers to have a chance to vote on no-deal Brexit and extension of Article 50 if lawmakers fail to approve her divorce agreement with the bloc.
Gold held near two-week lows touched in the previous session while oil dipped amid signs of surging U.S. crude production.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed on skepticism over the United States and China reaching a trade deal.
The Dow dropped 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 edged down 0.1 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.1 percent.
European markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday, with sentiment dented by heightened geopolitical tensions and caution ahead of Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The pan European Stoxx 600 eased 0.3 percent. The German DAX shed half a percent, France's CAC 40 index slipped 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.6 percent.
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