Europe open: Stocks tick lower as investors eye Jackson Hole symposium

European stocks nudged lower in early trade on Wednesday as investors eyed the Jackson Hole symposium and in particular, a speech by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

At 0835 BST, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were all 0.2% lower,

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "European stock markets fell in early trading Wednesday as the major indices continued to dance around some pretty well-worn ranges ahead of the Jackson Hole event.

"All anyone is really talking about is Jackson Hole and what Jay Powell says...it’s hard to see him doing anything different - underling the case to fight inflation, that policy rates will need to stay restrictive for longer etc... quite how the market reads it is anyone’s guess.

"But the market, as evidenced by nominal Treasury yields and break-evens, is still underappreciative of just how much inflation-busting is required."

Corporate news was thin on the ground, but Dutch insurance group ASR Nederland rallied after well-received first-half earnings.