European stocks see downbeat open after U.S. inflation data, tariffs fuel growth concerns

UK inflation hits hotter-than-expected 3.6% in June

The U.K.'s annual inflation rate hit a hotter-than-expected 3.6% in June, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had anticipated inflation would reach 3.4% in the twelve months to June, after it hit 3.4% in May.

Read more here.

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Chip giant ASML says it cant confirm that it will grow in 2026

ASML reported second-quarter earnings that beat estimates with the its key net bookings figure ahead of consensus.

However, the chip equipment giant missed analyst expectations for revenue guidance in the current quarter and warned of the possibility of no growth ahead.

Here's how ASML did versus LSEG consensus estimates for the second quarter:

• Net sales: 7.7 billion euros ($8.95 billion) versus 7.52 billion euros expected
• Net profit: 2.29 billion euros vs 2.04 billion euros expected

Read the full story here.

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Good morning, here are the opening calls

Good morning from London, and welcome to CNBC's live blog covering all the action and business news in European financial markets on Wednesday.

Futures data from IG suggests regional markets will start the week flat to lower, with London's FTSE 100 unchanged and both France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX expected to open 0.2% lower. Italy's FTSE MIB is seen opening 0.35% higher.

The downbeat mood for regional markets comes after a difficult start to the week, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced last weekend that he would impose a 30% tariff on goods imported from the EU starting Aug. 1.

Hope that the bloc will negotiate a trade deal with the White House before the end of the month was outweighed Tuesday by global growth concerns after data showed U.S. inflation rose to 2.7% from 2.4% in June.

What to keep an eye on today

Earnings season is upon us, with ASML, Richemont and Handelsbanken announcing their latest financial results on Thursday.

On the data front, we have the latest U.K. inflation print for June and EU trade data.