European stocks opened lower Wednesday; Stocks in Asia were mixed
The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2% at the opening bell, technology stocks leading losses with a 0.9% fall while oil and gas stocks gained 0.3%.
The spread between the 10-year and 2-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to its lowest level since before the financial crisis, with inversions of the yield curve consistently preceding periods of recession. The inversion caused a sell-off on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall by more than 100 points.
Stocks in Asia were mixed Wednesday afternoon following the tumultuous session stateside.
Back in Europe, investor focus will be attuned to domestic politics in Italy and the U.K. Italy’s Five Star Movement (M5S) and Democratic Party (PD) on Tuesday made progress toward a coalition deal, cheering Italian markets.
Meanwhile Britain’s opposition parties have united in a bid to pass a law forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to seek a delay to Britain’s departure from the European Union, slated for October 31, and prevent a potentially chaotic no-deal exit.
European auto stocks received a boost Tuesday after Beijing said it would relax or remove restrictions on auto purchases in a bid to boost consumption, lifting European automakers exposed to the Chinese market.
On the data front, German consumer sentiment data for September is due for publication Wednesday morning, along with Italian business and consumer confidence figures for August.
Source: CNBC
