European markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday with investors largely staying cautious and refraining from doing any significant buying due to lingering worries about U.S.-China trade dispute.
U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks that the U.S. and China still have "long way to go" on trade and that his administration could slap tariffs on an additional $325 billion worth of Chinese goods hurt sentiment.
The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 0.37%. The major markets Germany, France and the U.K. ended notably lower. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 0.55%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 settled lower by 0.72% and 0.76%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI ended 0.93% up.
Among other markets, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed weak.
Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands and Turkey ended higher, while Ukraine closed flat.
In the UK market, Johnson Matthey declined more than 5%. ITV, BP, Fresnillo, CRH, Antofagasta, Barclays and DS Smith lost 1.4 to 3.2%.
On the other hand, Burberry Group and Imperial Brands rose 3% and 2.3%, respectively. Coca Cola, Barrat Developments and Experian also ended notably higher.
In France, Michelin, ArcelorMittal, Total, Technip, Atos and BNP Paribas declined sharply.
German stocks Fresenius, Wirecard, Deutsche Bank and Covestro shed 2 to 3.5%. Daimler, Continental, BASF, Thyssenkrupp, Volkswagen and BMW also closed notably lower.
Shares of Swedish firm Dometic Group plunged nearly 7% on disappointing quarterly results. Swedbank shares tumbled after the lender slashed its dividend.
Ericsson ended more than 11% down after the company warned that its profit margins may drop due to higher costs.
In economic releases, Eurozone consumer inflation rose by a revised 1.3% year-on-year in June, slightly faster than the 1.2% rise in May, according to final data from Eurostat. The flash estimate showed a steady growth of 1.2% in June.
Eurozone construction output declined for the third straight month in May, another data from Eurostat showed Wednesday.
Construction output fell 0.3% month-on-month in May, smaller than the 1.7% decrease seen in April. This was the third consecutive decline in production.
Building construction dropped 0.3% and civil engineering output decreased 0.8% in May.
On a yearly basis, growth in construction output eased to a 4-month low of 2% from 3.1% in April.
In the EU28, construction output fell 0.3% on month but grew 2.5% from the previous year.
Meanwhile, U.K. consumer prices increased 2% year-on-year in June, the same pace of growth as seen in May and in line with expectations.
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