European stocks slip lower; EU/U.S. trade talks in focus

Investing.com - European equity indices edged lower Wednesday, as investors digested regional economic data while awaiting news of trade negotiations between the U.S. and the European Union.

At 05:10 ET (09:10 GMT), the DAX index in Germany dropped 0.3%, following a record closing peak, the CAC 40 in France slipped 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. traded largely unchanged. 

French economy grows slightly

France’s economy grew slightly in the first quarter, final data from statistics office INSEE showed on Wednesday, confirming the preliminary reading of 0.1%.

Additionally, the number of people out of work in Germany rose at faster pace than expected in May, with the number of unemployed - already at a decade-long high in April - increasing by 34,000 in seasonally adjusted terms to 2.96 million.

The number of unemployed people in Germany is approaching the 3 million mark for the first time over the last 10 years.

The European Central Bank is scheduled to meet on June 5, with financial markets expecting that it would lower its key deposit facility rate to 2.00% from 2.25% - which would be the ECB’s eighth rate cut in a row.

EU/U.S. trade talks due

Investors have been boosted this week by the news that President Donald Trump postponed the imposition of tariffs against goods imported from the European Union.

European Union policymakers have asked the EU’s leading companies and CEOs to swiftly provide detail of their U.S. investment plans, according to two sources familiar with the matter, as Brussels prepares for trade talks with Washington.

Soitec withdraws guidance

In the corporate sector, Soitec (EPA:SOIT) stock slumped Wednesday, a day after the semiconductor materials supplier withdrew its guidance for both the current fiscal year and the medium term, citing a prolonged downturn in demand for automotive and industrial semiconductors.

Pest control company Rentokil Initial (LON:RTO) has agreed to sell its French workwear division to H.I.G. Capital for gross proceeds of €410 million, with net cash proceeds expected to be approximately €370 million. 

Kingfisher (LON:KGF) stock fell as the home improvement retailer’s first-quarter results failed to impress investors.

Meanwhile, investors were also focused on upcoming quarterly results from AI chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) , due after the close of trading on Wall Street.

Crude gains on supply worries

Oil prices edged higher Wednesday, as concerns over potential new sanctions on Russia raised supply disruption fears, although trading ranges are tight ahead of a pivotal OPEC+ meeting later this week. 

At 05:05 ET, Brent futures climbed 0.3% to $63.77 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.4% to $61.12 a barrel.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, collectively known as OPEC+, are weighing the possibility of another production boost at their upcoming meeting this weekend.

OPEC+ has been in the process of unwinding output cuts, announcing additions to the market in May and June.

As investors prepare for this increased supply, they also digested comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire”, and Trump is considering new sanctions against Russia.

This could put Russian energy flows at risk and disrupt the global oil supply.

Investors also await the American Petroleum Institute’s weekly inventory report, which has been delayed this week due to the U.S. Memorial Day holiday on Monday.