Europe stocks ease ahead of US data, Fed minutes

European stock markets eased yesterday, while prices on Wall Street were higher, with all eyes turned to the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s latest interest-rate meeting.Investors were also looking ahead to new US economic data and a looming US-China summit, with Wall Street rising on the back of solid private-sector hiring data, dealers said.In the Eurozone, the Frankfurt and Paris stock markets gave up initial gains to end the session lightly in the red.But in London, the FTSE-100 closed 0.1% higher at 7,331.68 after better-than-expected growth in Britain’s service sector.In Frankfurt, DAX 30 was down 0.5% at 12,217.54 and in Paris CAC 40 lost 0.2% at 5,091.85 at close yesterday.“Wall Street opened higher yesterday with the Dow Jones breaking out to a two-week high,” said Jasper Lawler of London Capital Group.“A surprise jump in US private sector job growth reignited the reflation trade.” Nevertheless, “a little apprehension before Federal Reserve minutes and the meeting between US President Trump and Chinese Premier Xi capped some of the enthusiasm,” he cautioned. “Trump has openly labelled China a currency manipulator so his position is clear. The open questions are whether Trump follows through on his rhetoric, and if he does how China adjusts. Neither of these will be answered this week.” Accendo markets analyst Mike van Dulken also said investors were focusing on the Fed’s March meeting minutes, “with investors looking out for clues about the likely path of... further rate hikes this year.” The US central bank raised its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point in March – following a similar move in December.Investors were also on edge ahead of the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Donald Trump this week.The two-day gathering in Florida comes after the US tycoon hit out at Beijing’s trade policies and labelled it a currency manipulator, fanning fears of a trade war between the world’s top two economies.There are also geopolitical concerns linked to North Korea’s growing nuclear programme, with Trump warning he would be prepared to sideline Beijing in dealing with the rogue state.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un raised tensions yesterday by firing another ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, the latest in a series of launches in recent months.“It seems most folks are waiting on the meeting between Presidents Xi and Trump. And of course, non-farm payrolls,” said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader.Oil prices continued their rise during European trading hours yesterday following data that suggested US supplies were finally dwindling.