BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks are likely to open lower on Wednesday as a chaotic first U.S. presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden weighs on the mood.
Though Trump and Biden battled fiercely over issues concerning the coronavirus pandemic, the economy and taxes, the first presidential debate offered few insights into the outcome of the U.S. election.
Asian markets are trading mixed despite encouraging data from China and positive data regarding a potential coronavirus treatment from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
The manufacturing sector in China continued to expand in September, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from Caixin revealed with a manufacturing PMI score of 53.0, down from 53.1 in August.
Output growth eased but remained marked, while there was a sharper increase in total new work as export sales rebounded.
China's purchasing managers' index for nonmanufacturing businesses rose for a seventh month in September, with the corresponding PMI rising to 55.9 from 55.2 in August.
Closer home, U.K. shop prices continued to decrease in September on falling non-food prices, data from the British Retail Consortium revealed.
The shop price index dropped 1.6 percent year-on-year, the same pace of decrease as seen in August.
Consumer price data from euro area as well as unemployment and retail sales figures from Germany are due later in the session, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.
Gold inched lower and oil extended big losses from the previous session while the dollar ticked up in Asian trade.
U.S. stocks fell overnight to snap a three-day winning streak, though markets came off from their day's lows ahead of the presidential debate.
While lingering worries about the spread of coronavirus infections and cautious comments by a couple of Fed officials weighed on sentiment, a measure of U.S. consumer confidence rebounded by the most in 17 years in September, suggesting a U.S. economic recovery is still on track.
The Dow and the S&P 500 both dropped around half a percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 0.3 percent.
European markets ended Tuesday's session lower amid concerns over rising coronavirus cases and uncertainty about a Brexit deal.
The pan European Stoxx 600 slid half a percent. The German DAX eased 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 index slipped 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed half a percent.
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