Trade concerns push European stocks lower

On Wednesday European stocks slipped, with global trade concerns still hovering over markets, as China readies tariffs on the U.S. and the EU looks at mustering big auto-making countries to agree a new trade deal.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index was off 0.1%, paced by losses for the industrial and consumer services sector. But the telecom and utility groups moved higher, as financials notched a small gain. The pan-European index on Tuesday rose 0.8%.

Trading volumes are expected to be lighter than usual because U.S. financial markets are closed for the Independence Day holiday.

Germany’s DAX 30 index shed 0.3% and France’s CAC 40 was fractionally lower at 5,315.99. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index fell 0.3%, while Spain’s IBEX picked up 0.3%, adding to Tuesday’s jump of 1.1%.

Trading volumes were expected to be lighter than usual, because U.S. financial markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday. In addition, traders are turning some focus to the monthly U.S. jobs report, due Friday.

Even so, the impact of U.S. President Trump’s campaign to correct what he considers unfair trade conditions with its trading partners continues to reverberate worldwide. China is expected to begin imposing tariffs on $34 billion of U.S. goods on Friday, and the Trump administration’s tariffs on up to $50 billion in Chinese imports are due to take effect the same day. However, Beijing’s tariffs will kick in 12 hours sooner due to the time difference.

Meanwhile, European Union officials are weighing up the idea of talks with the big auto-making countries, to come up with a plurilateral deal to cut auto tariffs, the Financial Times reported Wednesday. Such a move could help stave off an all-out trade war. President Donald Trump has said the threat of global auto tariffs is his biggest weapon in extracting concessions from trading partners.