Europe midday: Shares slide into the red; Umicore soars on GS upgrade

(Sharecast News) - European shares slipped into the red on Tuesday, despite optimism around US-China trade talks, while investors also assessed UK employment and wage data.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.07% at midday to 552.90 points. Germany's DAX was down 0.35%, defying pre-market calls for a rise.

"The focus remains on the US and China trade talks. The talks have been extended into a second day, which caused some scaling back of risk sentiment at the end of trading on Monday," said XTB research director Kathleen Brooks.

"The lack of positive headlines weighed on stocks and the dollar. The S&P 500 backed away from intraday highs but is still clinging on to the 6,000 level. The dollar was one of the weakest currencies in the G10 FX space at the start of the week, although it is clawing back some recent losses on Tuesday."

"For now, the focus is likely to stay with the outcome of these trade talks. However, for the dollar to meaningfully retrace some recent losses, we do not think that positive headlines will be enough. A trade agreement with an actionable plan to get trade between the US and China flowing freely for the long term is the only way to stop the slide in the buck, in our view."

Britain's unemployment rate ticked up in the three months to April, while wage growth eased, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics. Economists now feel this could encourage the Bank of England to cut rates again.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.6% from 4.5% in January to March, marking the highest level since July 2021. Meanwhile, growth in average weekly earnings excluding bonuses fell to 5.2% from 5.6%.

In equity news, shares in UBS fell after the Swiss government published proposals that would require the bank to hold an additional $26bn.

Umicore shares soared by 14% after analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to 'buy' and doubled the 12-month price target to �16 for the Belgian materials tech specialist.

Safestore shares jumped 12% on the back of "robust" interim results, while UK housebuilders were also higher as Bellway lifted forecasts after a trading update.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com