European stocks edge lower as investors await concrete U.S.-China trade progress

By Callum Keown

Getty Images

Chinese police officers watch a cargo ship at a port in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province

European stocks nudged lower on Tuesday as investors waited for more concrete trade developments between the U.S. and China.

The Stoxx 600 /zigman2/quotes/210599654/delayed XX:SXXP +0.23% fell 0.1% in early trading, while the German DAX /zigman2/quotes/210597999/delayed DX:DAX -0.16% dropped 0.3% and the French CAC /zigman2/quotes/210597958/delayed FR:PX1 -0.07% slipped 0.1%.

What’s moving the markets?

After two consecutive days of gains on raised trade hopes, European markets edged lower on Tuesday as investors awaited further developments.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said trade envoys on both sides have agreed to hold further talks on a preliminary deal. State media Xinhua News Agency said the two countries had agreed to “maintain communication” on remaining issues around the Phase 1 deal.

After months of conflicting news investors failed to get excited by more talks. Connor Campbell, analyst at spread-betting company Spreadex, said the developments were “a tad too vague to spark significant growth, at least not after Monday’s gains.”

Asian markets were mixed overnight and European stocks opened lower, weighed down by travel companies and banks. U.S. stock futures also nudged lower despite Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s upbeat speech on the economy on Monday. Attention will turn to U.S. consumer confidence figures later on Tuesday.

German consumer sentiment is set to rise in December, according to research group GfK, due to improving economic and income expectations. But the improvement did little to help the DAX, which traded 0.3% down.

Which stocks are active?

Shares of U.K. bank note and passport printer De La Rue /zigman2/quotes/206574260/delayed UK:DLAR +0.75% plunged more than 20% on Tuesday as the company voiced fears about its future, suspended its dividend and reported a loss in the first half of the year.

Compass Group /zigman2/quotes/200043088/delayed UK:CPG -2.31% fell 5.1% after the FTSE 100 support-services company reported a 3.3% fall in pre-tax profit for the fiscal year 2019. However, full-year revenue growth of 6.4% beat targets of a 4%-6% rise.

Pets at Home /zigman2/quotes/200736034/delayed UK:PETS -0.32% climbed 10% in early trading as the company said it now expected full-year profit at the top end of the market consensus due to higher demand for its pet food and vet services.

/zigman2/quotes/210599654/delayed

Add to watchlist XX:SXXP

STOXX Europe 600 Index

XX : STOXX

458.19

+1.03 +0.23%

Volume: 0.00

Feb. 7, 2023 11:03p

/zigman2/quotes/210597999/delayed

Add to watchlist DX:DAX

DAX

DX : Xetra Indices

15,320.88

-25.03 -0.16%

Volume: 56,184

Feb. 7, 2023 6:30p

/zigman2/quotes/210597958/delayed

Add to watchlist FR:PX1

CAC 40 Index

FR : France: Euronext Paris

7,132.35

-4.75 -0.07%

Volume: 73,508

Feb. 7, 2023 6:05p

/zigman2/quotes/206574260/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:DLAR

De La Rue PLC

UK : U.K.: London

67.50 p

+0.50 +0.75%

Volume: 21,858

Feb. 7, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

£130.94 million

Rev. per Employee

£155,863

/zigman2/quotes/200043088/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:CPG

Compass Group PLC

UK : U.K.: London

1,883.00 p

-44.50 -2.31%

Volume: 3.36M

Feb. 7, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

30.10

Dividend Yield

1.67%

Market Cap

£33.73 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/200736034/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:PETS

Pets at Home Group PLC

UK : U.K.: London

373.00 p

-1.20 -0.32%

Volume: 883,216

Feb. 7, 2023 4:37p

P/E Ratio

16.90

Dividend Yield

3.22%

Market Cap

£1.78 billion

Rev. per Employee

£82,873