FILE PHOTO: The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, October 15, 2019. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo
October 16, 2019
(Reuters) – European shares dipped on Wednesday, after dramatic swings over the past week, as uncertainty over the outcome of London’s last-ditch Brexit talks with Brussels kept investors on the sidelines.
By 0710 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index <.STOXX> was down 0.1% after closing at its highest level since May 2018.
Brexit negotiations will resume in Brussels on Wednesday morning after “constructive” negotiations went into the night on Tuesday, a British spokesman said.
Britain’s domestically-focused midcaps <.FTMC> slipped 0.2% after climbing recently on hopes of a Brexit deal.
London-listed shares of Rio Tinto <RIO.L> fell after the miner said its iron ore shipments rose 5%, but cut its bauxite and alumina production forecast for the year.
The company’s share drop pulled the mining sector <.SXPP> down 1.3%.
Keeping losses in check for the benchmark index were shares of Roche <ROG.S>, which rose 1.2% as the Swiss drugmaker boosted its 2019 sales outlook for a third time, and said it expects to finish its takeover of Spark Therapeutics <ONCE.O> this year.
Its shares boosted the healthcare sector <.SXDP> by 0.5%.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)