European markets open on a subdued note

The European markets opened lower during the morning hours on Wednesday as geopolitical concerns restrained investor sentiment.
 
FTSE 100 index was trading at 7,498 levels, lower by 43.76 points; CAC 40 index was at 5,175 levels, down by 42.99 points; while the German DAX was at 12,206 levels, down by 85.62 points. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down by 0.05%.
 
The pending issues between North Korea and the United States have soared to an unprecedented level after President Donald Trump warned that the former would be met with “fire and fury” if it continued its threats. Pyongyang replied it was “carefully examining” a plan to strike Guam, where a US military base is located. Thus, investors were switching from stocks to safe-haven options such as the yen, gold and US treasury products.
 
In the corporate world, Novo Nordisk, Ahold Delhaize and E.ON will present their latest figures on Friday. On Wednesday morning, ABN AMRO reported strong figures, surpassing expected underlying net profit of Euros 960 million (USD 1.13 billion) in the second quarter of the year.
 
The European Commission has approved Santander’s plans to buy Banco Popular in Spain. According to a leading international news agency, France’s energy group ENGIE is reportedly in talks with Renova to purchase a wind power plant based in Brazil.