European Shares Seen Lower As Trade Concerns Persist

(RTTNews) - European stocks are likely to open lower on Wednesday after chip major Nvidia said it would take a quarterly charge of about $5.5 billion tied to exporting H20 graphics processing units to China.

Meanwhile, after Beijing paused Boeing orders, the White House said the next move in stalled trade talks must come from China.

U.S. reports on retail sales and industrial production along with any new developments on the tariff front may garner investor attention later in the day.

U.S. stock futures slipped as investors looked for more earnings from the first-quarter season.

Asian markets were mostly lower, with Hong Kong and Japan leading regional losses as trade war anxiety overshadowed a series of upbeat data from China.

China Q1 GDP beating estimates, but analysts said the growth target of around 5 percent this year is unlikely to be achieved, given a protracted property downturn, sluggish domestic demand and the recent sweeping U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

Industrial output rose at a faster pace in March, retail sales growth topped expectations and fixed asset investment was in line with expectations, aided by the government's initiatives to boost local consumption.

The dollar slumped, helping gold prices climb nearly 2 percent to a new record high past $3,280 per ounce.

Oil extended losses amid expectations for a glut and lingering concerns over the effects of U.S.-China trade war.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending modestly lower overnight despite better-than-expected first-quarter earnings from Bank of America and Citigroup.

An uneasy calm prevailed as the Mexican government halted U.S. fuel imports sent into the country by road and China ordered its airlines not to take further deliveries of Boeing jets in retaliation against U.S. tariffs.

The Dow shed 0.4 percent, the S&P 500 slid 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally lower.

European stocks closed higher on Tuesday amid tentative optimism that there will be some respite from U.S. President Trump's tariffs regime.

The pan European STOXX 600 climbed 1.6 percent. The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both jumped by 1.4 percent while France's CAC 40 added 0.9 percent.