European stocks are set to open lower Wednesday after U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell tempered expectations of an imminent cut to interest rates. The FTSE 100 is seen around 20 points down at 5,402, the DAX is expected to open around 39 points lower at 12,189, and the CAC is set to tick around 10 points lower to 5,504. Investors worldwide are also awaiting the impending meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday at the G-20 summit in Osaka, in the hope that the world's two largest economies will at least agree a ceasefire on escalating trade tariffs. Asian shares slipped Wednesday afternoon after Powell reiterated the central bank's "independence" in a speech, and issued a warning about policy caving to "short-term political interests" amid pressure from President Trump to cut rates. In corporate news, Reuters reported Tuesday that rural U.S. telecom carriers dependent on Chinese giant Huawei for network gear are in discussions with European rivals Ericsson and Nokia as possible replacements. Meanwhile, German electric utility group E.ON has offered to sell assets in Hungary, Germany and the Czech Republic to address antitrust concerns from the European Union surrounding the company's bid for rival Innogy's network and retail assets. Source: CNBC
