Europe open: Stocks slightly higher despite "warning lights" in PMI data

Worth noting, according to some economists that data was akin "to warning lights flashing". In the background meanwhile, the minutes of the US central bank's last policy meeting released overnight had also contained some slightly more mixed messages than on prior occasions.

Commenting on the current backdrop in markets, Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK said preliminary talks between Washington and Beijing "look unlikely to yield too much in the way of progress [...] with the US President, given his current political difficulties, unlikely to want to concede any further ground."

On the subject of Wednesday night's Fed minutes, Hewson said: "the contents of the minutes do appear to suggest that officials are becoming concerned about the approach of a number of factors that might present risks to the US economy, including the current uncertainty about trade."

As of 0921 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was edging higher by 0.06% or 0.24 points to 384.28, albeit alongside a 0.19% or 23.51 point dip for the German Dax to 12,363.66, while the FTSE Mibtel was off by 0.36% or 77.66 points at 20,621.48.

In parallel, euro/dollar was trading lower by 0.34% to 1.15568.

Weighing on the single-currency, IHS Markit's widely-followed factory sector Purchasing Managers' Index for the euro area retreated from a reading of 55.1 for July to 54.6 in August, missing the consensus forecast for a print of 55.1.

"Warning lights are flashing. [...] political worries, rising prices and a recent slowdown in order book growth have all contributed to the gloomiest outlook for almost two years, according to companies' expectations of their future output," said IHS Markit economist Chris Williamson.

"In manufacturing, optimism is down to its lowest for almost three years, as a near stalling of exports corroborated escalating trade war worries."

On that note, and from a sector standpoint, Autos&Parts was again one of the weakest segments in the market, with the Stoxx 600's sector gauge falling 0.50% to 531.13, with gains of 0.71% for Technology acting as an offset.

Still on the economic calendar for 1330 BST, the European Central Bank was set to publish the minutes from its own last policy meeting.

Over in corporate news, stock in Ryanair was a high-flyer following news that management had clinched a deal with its Irish pilots.

Swiss asset manager GAM meanwhile was again at the bottom of the pile on the Stoxx 600.

There were also some negative headlines swirling around Deutsche Bank and Austria's Raiffeisen Bank linked to their activities with Russian clients.