Europe open: Stocks modestly lower as investors await events at Westminster

All eyes were on Westminster at the start of the session amid speculation that opposition MPs might table a bill meant to force the government not to risk a 'no-deal' Brexit.

The euro area economy had already been hard hit by the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum and the two years of uncertainty that followed and expectations were that the fallout would only worsen in case of a so-called 'Hard Brexit'.

"Sterling likely feels it is in a no-win situation, a sentiment expressed in another rough open for the currency this Tuesday," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

"If the week’s Commons Brexit delay vote fails, then the country remains on track to crash out of the EU without a deal. If it succeeds, then it appears it will trigger a general election on October 14th, the prospective uncertainty of which is enough to turn the pound’s stomach."

Against that backdrop, as of 0824 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was trading 0.36% lower at 379.32, alongside a fall of 0.45% to 11,900.25 for the German Dax and a dip of 0.12% to 21,426.47 on the FTSE Mibtel.

Sterling meanwhile had lost the psychological 1.20 level against the Greenback and was moving rapidly towards its post-referendum lows.

The night before, Prime Minister Boris Johnson hinted that he could call snap elections if that were to happen, arguing that rebel MPs were undermining Britain's negotiating position, although according to some analysts - whose opinions were again becoming increasingly polarised - that had always been the plan in the first place.

Investors were also closely monitoring the headlines for any news around the current state of US-China trade talks.

Overnight, Bloomberg reported that Washington and Beijing were "struggling" to agree on a date for a face-to-face meeting between their trade negotiators after the US rejected a Chinese demand that the tariffs that were set to go into effect on 1 September be postponed.

For later in the session, Eurostat was scheduled to publish factory gate price data at 1000 BST and Ireland's national statistics office a reading on unemployment in June one hour later.

Stock in Ferguson was pacing gains on the Stoxx 600 after the plumbers merchant announced plans to demerge its UK operations.