FX.co ★ European Stocks Trade Cautiously Lower

European stocks experienced modest declines on Friday as investors exercised caution ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium. Simultaneously, market participants evaluated the implications of the European Union's newly established trade agreement with the United States. This accord commits the EU to allocate $750 billion towards US energy expenditures and a minimum of $600 billion in investments, while securing a tariff limit of 15%, significantly lower than the initially threatened 30%. Notably, the pharmaceutical sector, along with other EU exports, will be subject to this 15% tariff. Additionally, updated data revealed a sharper contraction in Germany's economy during the second quarter, attributed to a weakened manufacturing sector. This downturn followed a prior surge in US firms' purchases earlier in the year, aimed at circumventing potential tariffs.