Global market stocks were down on Thursday as anxiety mounted over the possibility that even before the start of 2020 the U.S. and China might not be able to stike out a trade pact.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has been battling speculations that the economic talks were in trouble with a spokesman pointing out that Beijing was committed to continuing discussions on key issues.
Germany's DAX declined 0.2 percent to 13,127, while France's CAC 40 fell 0.4 percent to 5,870. Britain's FTSE 100 dropped to 7,214 by 0.7 percent. For options for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average going 0.1 percent down, Wall Street futures eased small losses.
Throughout the Asian market place, Hong Kong's Hang Seng benchmark index dropped to 26,466.88 by 1.6 percent. The benchmark of the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3 percent to 2,903.64, while the Nikkei 225 of Japan declined 0.5 percent to 23,038.58.
Recent reports suggest that the United States and China are struggling to reach a tentative "Stage 1" trade understanding and this year it may not be achieved.
Investors were hoping that the world's two largest economies will be able to reach an agreement before new and more damaging tariffs take effect starting Dec. 15 on Chinese imports at about $160 billion. Such duties would include smartphones, laptops and other consumer goods.
Worries about economic instability have helped push down the world economy and on Thursday the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said that it expects global growth this year to reach 2.9 percent, the lowest since the financial crisis after it expanded 3.5 percent last year.
Spokesman for the Commerce Ministry, Gao Feng, told reporters that he had no new information to disclose at a weekly news conference. But he dismissed the speculation that the talks were in trouble, saying "outside rumors are certainly not right."
According to Gao, China is pushing on with the discussions in hopes of finding closure to the disputes over technology and industrial policy for the benefit of both countries and the world as a whole.
"Two years of unresolved misunderstanding over tariffs on a wide range of goods, principally between the U.S. and China, have taken a heavy toll on global commerce, and is undermining business investment while putting jobs at risk, analysts said.
Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi was down 1.4 percent to 2.096.60 and elsewhere, Australia's S&P ASX 200 lost 0.7 percent to 6.672.90. In India, the Sensex edged up to 40,673.75 by 0.1 percent.
In other markets, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark crude oil shed 21 cents to $56.80 a barrel in electronic trading. The international standard, Brent crude oil, lost 26 cents to $62.14.
On Wednesday, the dollar edged up to 108.61 against the Japanese yen at 108.59. The euro has risen from $1,1075 to $1,1083.
