European Shares Decline On Worries About Trump's Policy On Key Issues

(RTTNews) - European stocks traded lower on Tuesday after reports emerged that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will appoint Michael Waltz as his national security adviser and Marco Rubio as secretary of state, indicating hardline positions on China, Iran and Venezuela.

Meanwhile, according to data provider DDHQ, Trump's Republican Party had won a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, signaling a majority for Republicans in both chambers of Congress.

It is feared that Trump's aggressive tariff hikes could fuel inflation eventually and stop the Fed from cutting rates. Tariffs also carry the risk of retaliation from major trading partners.

On the economic front, the focus remains on U.S. consumer price inflation data on Wednesday, and a slew of speeches by Federal Reserve officials this week, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday.

The pan European STOXX 600 was down 0.9 percent at 507.64 after rallying 1.1 percent on Monday, its biggest single-day gain in six weeks.

The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both dipped around 0.9 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slid 0.8 percent.

In corporate news, German chemicals giant Bayer plunged more than 12 percent after cutting its full-year operating earnings guidance.

Chipmaker Infineon fell about 1 percent on reducing its sales forecast for the fiscal year 2025.

Vodafone shares slumped 4 percent after the British telecoms group suffered falling revenue in its biggest market Germany.

Sales and marketing services provider DCC soared 15 percent as it announced plans to sell its healthcare division and review "strategic options" for its technology business.