European markets slipped into the red on Wednesday as uncertainty over the direction of U.S. trade tariffs continued to dent sentiment.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was 0.6% lower at 1:31 p.m. U.K. time following two strong session gains. Critical chip firm ASML dropped 4.6% after it missed expectations on net bookings and flagged uncertainty around U.S. trade. Industry peer ASM International was pulled 3.8% lower.
U.K. inflation data for March came in at 2.6% in March, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday, below the 2.7% forecast in a Reuters poll.
Investors are meanwhile assessing the latest Chinese growth data, as well as industrial production figures and retail sales amid a new era of tariffs under U.S. President Donald Trump.
Chinese state data out Wednesday showed the economy expanded by a better-than-expected 5.4% in the first quarter, although the tariff threat prompted major investment banks to cut the country’s annual growth outlook.
Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly lower overnight, while U.S. stock futures slipped as investors looked ahead to the release of a key retail sales report and more earnings from the first-quarter season.
In extended trading, shares of Nvidia dropped more than 6% after the chip giant said it will post a $5.5 billion quarterly charge related to exporting its H20 graphics processing units to China and other nations.