BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets ended lower on Tuesday, although shares came off the day's lows amid reports the U.S. will delay implementing the additional tariffs on Chinese exports originally scheduled for December 15.
Worries about global economic slowdown and caution ahead of key central bank meetings weighed on stock prices.
In U.S.-China trade news, a report from Wall Street Journal said the U.S. plans to delay imposing additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
U.S. negotiators have reportedly asked Chinese officials to commit to some up front agricultural purchases. On the other hand, Beijing wants those purchases to be proportional to rollbacks of existing U.S. tariffs.
An earlier report from the South China Morning Post had said a trade deal between the U.S. and China is unlikely to be completed this week, although sources close to the talks do not expect the tariffs planned for December 15th to take effect.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.26%. Among the major markets in Europe, France ended modestly higher, with its benchmark CAC 40 advancing 0.18%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX shed 0.28% and 0.27%, respectively, while Switzerland's SMI declined 0.43%.
Among other markets, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine ended weak. Italy closed on a positive note.
In the U.K. market, Ashtead Group declined more than 6% after the company warned of currency woes. Micro Focus, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Morrison Supermarkets, Bunzi, EasyJet, Mondi and BT Group lost 2 to 4.3%, while Hikma Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline, Reckitt Benckiser and Standard Chartered closed on the positive side.
Ted Baker shares plunged to a 16-year low after the fashion retailer warned its full-year profit will fall more than expected. The company also said that its board has accepted Lindsay Page's resignation as Chief Executive Officer.
In Germany, Wirecard tumbled 4.6%. Lufthansa shed about 2.2%, while Fresenius and Vonovia gained 1.4% and 0.8%, respectively.
In the French market, ArcelorMittal, Dassault Systemes, Renault, Safran, BNP Paribas and Publicis Groupe ended notably lower.
On the other hand, Sanofi rallied nearly 6% after the company said it would discontinue research in diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and would not pursue plans to launch efpeglenatide, as part of a restructuring.
Essilor and STMicroElectronics ended with moderate gains.
In economic news, French payroll employment increased 0.2% in the third quarter driven by job creation in the private sector, data from the statistical office INSEE showed. Job creation had increased by a similar 0.2% in the second quarter. On a yearly basis, employment increased 1% in the third quarter.
Another data from INSEE showed France's factory production rose for a second consecutive month in October and at a faster-than-expected pace. Manufacturing production grew 0.5% month-on-month following a 0.8% growth in September. Economists had forecast a 0.4% gain.
Germany's economic sentiment strengthened notably to the highest level in 22 months in December, survey data from the ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research in Mannheim showed.
The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment rose to 10.7 in December from -2.1 in November. This was the highest reading since February 2018, when the score was 17.8. The score was also well above the forecast of 3.5 points.
The indicator for the current situation improved to -19.9 from -24.7 in the previous month. Economists had forecast the index to climb moderately to -22.0.
The U.K economy stagnated in October as growth in industrial and service sectors were offset by contraction in construction, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed.
Gross domestic product remained unchanged in October from September, when it was down 0.1%.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX