Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.3% to 7,161.29 and the CAC 40 in France dropped 0.8% to 5,201.83. Germany's DAX declined 0.3% to 11,765.90. But Wall Street looked set for gains, with the future contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.4% at 24,962.00. The future for the S&P 500 index added 0.3% to 2,758.40.
With no major fresh developments in the standoff between Washington and Beijing over their festering trade dispute, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.5% to 26,758.55 and the Shanghai Composite index slipped 1.0% to 2,862.28. "Assuming banks cut their rates by 0.25% it will take deposit rates to their lowest since the mid-1950s and headline mortgage rates to their lowest since the early 1950s, although some mortgage rates are already at record lows," Shane Oliver of AMP Capital said in a commentary."Rate cuts are a bit like cockroaches. If you see one there is normally another nearby," he added.
Investors were reacting to media reports suggesting that government regulators are setting the stage for potential antitrust probes into each of the four technology giants.