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The pan-European Stoxx 600 was little changed during early afternoon deals, with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory.
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Sweden's H&M surged towards the top of the European benchmark, shortly after the company posted better-than-expected earnings over the third quarter.
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Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments, after Reuters reported President Donald Trump is likely announce new tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports as early as Monday.
European stocks were mixed Monday afternoon, amid renewed fears over an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was little changed during early afternoon deals, with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory.
Europe's retail stocks were the best performers during lunchtime trade, up around 1.3 percent amid earnings news. Sweden's H&M HM.B-SE led the gains, surging towards the top of the European benchmark after reporting better-than-expected earnings over the third quarter. The world's second-largest retailer said efforts to compete with online sellers and budget brands were now starting to pay off. Its shares climbed more than 16 percent on the news.
Looking at individual stocks, Recruitment consultancy Hays slumped towards the bottom of the index after HSBC cut its stock recommendation to "hold" from "buy." The bank said Hays "must do better" to justify a premium valuation. Its shares were down over 3 percent Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Britian's GVC Holdings GVC-GB was also trading lower, shortly after Barclays cut its target price for the stock. Shares of the gambling firm were down around 2.5 percent on the news.
Trade war
Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments, after Reuters reported President Donald Trump is likely announce new tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports as early as Monday.
The tariff level is expected to be around 10 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal, far below the 25 percent the White House had said it was considering.
The U.S. newspaper also suggested Beijing could cancel proposed trade talks with Washington, if the Trump administration moves ahead with fresh charges.
In data, euro zone annual inflation slowed slightly to 2 percent in August, the EU statistic's office said Monday, confirming an earlier estimate. The reading, which the European Central Bank (ECB) looks at closely when making policy decisions, showed headline inflation had marginally slowed from 2.1 percent in July.