European markets open lower as traders focus on euro zone inflation data

European markets opened lower on Tuesday as investors in the region focused on euro zone inflation data as well as corporate earnings releases.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was 0.3% lower shortly after the opening bell, with most sectors in negative territory. Insurance, utilities and banking stocks led the losses, while financial services and technology stocks saw the biggest gains.

All major bourses were trading lower by 8:09 a.m. London time, with the FTSE 100 down by around 0.7%.

Regional markets traded higher at the start of the week as investors assessed a media report suggesting U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff plan may not be as extreme as feared.

The Washington Post reported that Trump’s team is considering a plan to impose tariffs on all countries, but only on “critical imports,” although these were not specified. Trump later disputed the report in a Truth Social post.

Overnight, Asia-Pacific markets rose Tuesday, following Monday’s rally in technology shares on Wall Street that saw the S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite post back-to-back gains. U.S. stock futures slipped on Tuesday morning, however.

Back in Europe, German inflation data released on Monday showed the country’s consumer price index rose to a higher-than-expected 2.9% in December. Analysts polled by Reuters expected a 2.6% reading.