European markets opened lower on Tuesday as doubts abound over whether the U.S. and China can strike a partial trade accord before the next tariff deadline on Sunday, December 15. The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.3 percent at the opening bell, with basic resources shedding 1 percent to lead losses as all sectors except healthcare, which gained 0.4 percent, traded in negative territory. A Chinese Commerce Ministry official said on Monday that Beijing hoped for a deal with Washington as soon as possible before the deadline, according to Reuters, while U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to see "movement" from China to avoid implementing the tariffs. Asian stocks mostly declined on Tuesday afternoon as Chinese inflation data showed a surge in consumer prices in November, while Wall Street snapped a three-day winning streak Monday as the Dow fell 100 points. Britain's political parties are heading into the home stretch of campaigning ahead of Thursday's landmark general election, which will be pivotal for Brexit and economic policy. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party remains favorite to win a majority of seats, but the opinion polls have narrowed in recent weeks. In corporate news, Tesco shares jumped more than 5 percent on Monday after the U.K.'s biggest grocer revealed over the weekend that it is considering the sale of its Asian businesses. On the data front, the ZEW economic sentiment index for the euro area in December is due at 10 a.m. London time. U.K. GDP figures are due at 9:30 a.m. London time along with industrial and manufacturing production data and construction orders. Source: CNBC
