BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks traded lower on Thursday, with U.S.-China trade tensions and escalating tensions in the Middle East keeping investors worried.
There was no relief from the U.S.-China trade truce as the much-hyped framework agreement lacked specifics.
Elsewhere, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed diminished confidence in reaching a nuclear deal with Iran, emphasizing that Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons.
Also, the U.S. has initiated a partial evacuation of its embassy in Iraq and authorized voluntary departures from Bahrain and Kuwait, citing heightened security concerns.
The pan European STOXX 600 fell 0.8 percent to 547.35 after declining 0.3 percent on Wednesday.
The German DAX tumbled 1.3 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was marginally lower.
The British pound edged lower on rate cut bets after official data showed the U.K. economy shrank more than expected in April largely reflecting a fall in services output.
Real GDP declined 0.3 percent month-on-month in April, following a growth of 0.2 percent in March.
This was the biggest fall since October 2023. Analysts had expected GDP to drop marginally by 0.1 percent.
Hexagon AB fell over 1 percent after it announced an agreement to acquire France's APEI, a company specializing in aerial mapping capabilities.
Supermarket chain Tesco rallied 2.2 percent as Q1 sales beat estimates.
Airbus SE declined 1.4 percent after making a bold prediction about the future of aviation. It was said the global commercial aircraft fleet will double in size to almost 50,000 planes over the next 20 years.
Travel-related stocks were moving lower after weak airfare data from the United States and amid concerns about rising fuel costs.
TUI slumped 6.1 percent, while IAG and Deutsche Lufthansa both fell around 3 percent.
Halma jumped 3.4 percent. The health and safety device maker lifted its organic revenue growth guidance for fiscal year 2026 after annual adjusted pretax profit beat expectations.
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