European Shares Seen Lower As US-China Trade Tensions Simmer

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening a tad lower on Tuesday as investors ponder the status of trade talks between the two biggest economies and look ahead to key earnings releases from major U.S. banks for directional cues.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he still expects Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will meet but warned that all options remain open for retaliating against China's move to tighten exports of rare earths.

China's commerce ministry said it remained open to talks, but the U.S. cannot seek dialogue while threatening new measures.

"If you wish to fight, we shall fight to the end; if you wish to negotiate, our door remains open," according to an official statement.

Also, Beijing reportedly said it was Washington's expansion of curbs on Chinese firms in late September that ratcheted up tensions and drove it to further tighten its grip on the critical minerals.

On the earnings front, financial giants Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are among the companies due to report their quarterly results before the U.S. opening bell later today, marking the unofficial start of the third-quarter earnings season.

The European economic calendar remains light, with unemployment data from the U.K. and economic sentiment survey results from Germany awaited later in the day.

Asian markets were broadly lower as investors remained wary over U.S.-China trade tensions.

The U.S. and China will start collecting port fees on each other's vessels from today in tit-for-tat move that threatens global shipping and trade flows.

In another significant development, Beijing has announced sanctions against five U.S.-based subsidiaries of the South Korean shipping giant Hanwha Ocean, accusing the firm of cooperating with Washington in its curbs on China's maritime sector.

Japanese markets led regional losses, with the Nikkei average tumbling nearly 3 percent as the withdrawal of political party Komeito from Japan's ruling coalition deepened the country's political turbulence.

The dollar held steady in Asian trade before an address by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Gold extended gains toward $4,200 an ounce after hitting a new record high the previous day.

Oil prices were marginally lower after rising sharply on Monday following reports of a possible meeting between the U.S. and Chinese Presidents later this month.

U.S. stocks rose sharply overnight, partly offsetting the steep losses posted last Friday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite spiked 2.2 percent as Broadcom Inc. became the latest chipmaker to forge a blockbuster data center deal with OpenAI.

The S&P 500 rallied 1.6 percent and the Dow added 1.3 percent after President Trump stuck a more conciliatory tone, saying it will be fine with China and the U.S. wants to help the country, not hurt it.

European stocks closed higher on Monday as trade war worries eased, and France's newly re-appointed Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu unveiled a revamped Cabinet amid budget turmoil that is scaring businesses and investors.

The pan European Stoxx 600 advanced 0.4 percent. The German DAX rose 0.6 percent while France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both edged up by 0.2 percent.