Europe's share markets fell back into the red yesterday, as investor worries about slowing global growth in the face of rising US interest rates and trade tensions outweighed crucial Brexit progress.
Chinese markets had extended their slump in Asia amid the trade war with the United States, and with Wall Street closed later for Thanksgiving and trading therefore lighter than normal, Europe followed suit.
A disappointing batch of company earnings added to the stocks gloom but Italian bonds rallied for a second day as sparring continued over its budget and sterling jumped as London and Brussels agreed wording on a Brexit transition deal.
The dollar also edged lower for a second day as traders sold the greenback going into Thanksgiving and after Wall Street had seen Apple shares, which have slumped $280 billion in recent weeks, fail with an attempted rebound.
Europe's tech sector duly lost another 0.75 per cent, but it wasn't the worst performer. Banks fell as much as 1.6 per cent and mining companies and other resources firms dropped nearly two per cent before clawing some ground back.
The falls also reflected the bitter Sino-US trade war, encouraging investors to take money off the table before US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, meet next week.
Countries belonging to the G20 group of the world's biggest economies applied 40 new restrictive measures between mid-May and mid-October, covering around $481 billion of trade, the World Trade Organisation said yesterday.
Three-quarters of the restrictions were tariff hikes, many of them retaliation to steel and aluminium tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump in March.
Sterling jumped back up to $1.29 and 88.50 pence per euro after London and Brussels agreed on a text setting out their post-split ties that EU leaders are expected to endorse at a summit on Sunday.
The Brexit text had also seen the euro rise against the dollar which meant the single currency barely budged when ECB meeting minutes showed its policymakers were keen to affirm their plans to cut stimulus at the end of the year.
Back in emerging economy share markets, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had ended little changed after recovering from an initial wobble.
The index has managed to hold up so far in November after three straight monthly declines, but is on track for its worst annual performance since 2011.
Japan's Nikkei had finished almost 0.7 per cent higher but the ongoing trade and tech jitters saw shares close 0.4 per cent in the red.
US crude futures were last down 42 cents at $54.21 a barrel after hitting a one-year low of $52.77 on Tuesday. Brent eased 45 cents to $63.03, off Tuesday's low of $61.71.
Gold rose, with spot prices at $1,227.60 an ounce.