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(Bloomberg) -- European equities closed modestly lower on Wednesday, as China’s signal that it could be open to trade talks allowed the market to pare earlier losses.
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The Stoxx Europe 600 Index ended the session down 0.2%, snapping a two-day winning streak. However, it clawed back most of its earlier 1.4% slide, as Beijing signaled it would be willing to engage in trade talks if the Trump adminstration shows a more consistent position and reins in disparaging remarks by cabinet members. Tech was the biggest laggard after the US barred Nvidia Corp. from selling its H20 chip in China, a sign Washington is in no mood to tone down its trade battle with Beijing.
“My impression is that the market became a little too optimistic after the snapback of the past few days, as we’re getting some data points that make us scratch our head,” said Philipp Lisibach, head of strategy and research at LGT Private Banking.
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European stocks’ record outperformance in the first quarter versus the S&P 500 in dollar terms has given way to concern about the potential impact of Trump’s trade policies on economic growth and corporate profits. The Stoxx 600 is down about 5% so far in April, after gaining an equivalent amount in the January-March period.
Among individual stock movers, ASML Holding NV fell as much as 7.6% after orders for the first quarter were far lower than expected and the firm warned that it doesn’t know how to quantify the impact from recent tariff announcements. Heineken NV rose as much as 5% after volumes of beer fell less than expected, even as a late Easter dampened demand for its top-selling brands in Europe and the Americas.
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