Mixed corporate results leave European shares flat

European shares were flat in early trading on Wednesday as investors parsed through a mixed bag of corporate results, with rising Brexit uncertainty and trade tensions limiting the gains.

The banking sector fell 0.8%, led by Swedish banks, as Handelsbanken fell on poor results, while Swedbank slipped after cutting its shareholder pay-out policy. The tech sector outperformed the broader market after ASML reported better-than-expected quarterly results. The sector rose was up 0.6%, also helped by gains in mobile network gear maker Ericsson, which said it was ontrack for 2020 targets as second-quarter profit matched.

The pan-European stocks benchmark slipped 0.07% at 0711 GMT, in what could be its first day of decline in four days.

Asian shares drifted off on Wednesday as anxious investors awaited more earnings reports from corporate America, while the dollar held firm in the wake of robust U.S. retail data and a Brexit-driven dive in the pound.

Oil prices also nursed losses on hints U.S. tensions with Iran could be easing and as data showed stockpiles fell by less than expected last week.

Not helping the mood was Tuesday’s threat from U.S. President Donald Trump to put tariffs on another $325 billion of Chinese goods, amid market nervousness over when face-to-face talks will resume.

The fallout of the year-long trade dispute was apparent in data from Singapore, where exports sank by the most in six years in June led by a steep drop in electronics.

In stock markets trade was generally muted with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan off 0.25%.

Japan’s Nikkei eased 0.3% and South Korea 1%, while Chinese blue chips edged up 0.3%. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were a fraction firmer but EUROSTOXX 50 futures dipped 0.2%.

Oil prices were trying to stabilise after falling more than 3% overnight. Brent crude futures edged up 18 cents to $64.49, while U.S. crude rose 2 cents to $57.64 a barrel.