European shares extend sell-off on trade jitters

European stocks fell on Wednesday, with renewed trade tensions linked to Greenland weighing on the selloff, which outweighed the impact of upbeat corporate updates.

The pan-European STOXX was down 0.1% at 600 by 0810 GMT. Financial services and banks were the biggest laggards, each down 0.6%.

Investors were rattled by sharp declines this week after US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on eight European countries from February 1 until the US is allowed to buy Greenland.

So far, Trump has given few signs that he will de-escalate, and investors remain on edge as they await his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos later in the day.

Rio Tinto beat expectations for quarterly iron ore and copper production, sending its stock up 3.1%.

Shares in Barry Callebaut rose 5.9% after appointing former Unilever boss Hein Schumacher as its chief executive.

Meanwhile, British consumer prices rose more than expected in December, but services inflation, closely watched by the Bank of England, came in as forecast.

London’s blue-chip FTSE 100 was flat.