European Stocks Close Broadly Lower as Investors Remain Nervous

By Investors Hub

European stocks are broadly lower on Tuesday as rising trade tensions and a sell-off in emerging market currencies, particularly in Argentina and Turkey, kept investors nervous.

U.S.-China trade tensions remained in focus ahead of looming U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports as early as this week.

Meanwhile, talks between U.S. and Canadian negotiators will resume on Wednesday after they failed to reach an agreement last week.

While the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index has fallen by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are down by 1.3 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Banks are moving higher after Fitch Ratings affirmed Italy’s triple-B rating on the country’s debt and Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said the country’s 2019 deficit would not breach the limit set by the European Union.

Meanwhile, miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore have fallen as London copper prices linger near two-week lows.

Dutch banking firm ING Group NV has tumbled after it agreed to pay a fine of 775 million euros to end a money-laundering probe by Dutch authorities.

German wind turbines maker Nordex Group has jumped after winning an order for 99 MW project from Argentina.

French re-insurer Scor has soared after it rejected a friendly takeover offer by Covea.

Advertising giant WPP has slumped in London after it expressed concern about underperforming operations in the United States.

In economic news, U.K. like-for-like sales rose by 0.2 percent year-on-year in August, figures from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed. Total sales advanced 1.3 percent annually.