U.S. CPI data, Stoxx 600, FTSE, DAX

Also drawing attention in global markets is U.S. inflation data, which came in narrowly below expectations for May and suggested any impact from tariffs did not land that month.

The consumer price index rose 0.1% month-on-month and 2.4% annually. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had forecast rates of 0.2% and 2.4%, respectively. In April, those figures were 0.2% and 2.3%.

Read more here.

— Jenni Reid

U.S. President Donald Trump has said China will supply rare earths upfront to the U.S. as part of a trade agreement.

The relationship between the world’s two largest economies is “excellent,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social at 1:04 p.m. in London.

“WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%” Trump also said.

The agreement is subject to final approval with himself and China President Xi Jinping, he added.

See all of the latest updates here.

The British pound, the U.K. government bond market and equities remain muted after Finance Minister Rachel Reeves’ budget spending review.

Sterling was flat against the U.S. dollar, trading at $1.35 per British pound. The FTSE 100 index, which predominantly contains companies exposed to global trade, was up 0.03%. The more domestically focused FTSE 250 was higher by 0.2%.

10-year gilt yields rose by 6 basis points to 4.6%. Bond prices move inversely to yields.

The Spending Review typically clarifies how billions of pounds’ worth of public money is split between departments and infrastructure projects. Announcements on additional spending, taxing or borrowing are usually reserved for the Budget in the fall.

— Ganesh Rao

The European Union does not appear to be politically ready to reach a trade deal with the U.S., according to Joe Kaeser, chairman of the supervisory board at German energy transition giant Siemens Energy.

“If you look at this European Union, I believe it is politically not ready to strike this type of deal,” Kaeser told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.

“I believe they need a reset and a restructuring to get ready for a political union, which I believe is relevant,” he added.

His comments come as European Union and U.S. trade officials work to reach a deal ahead of a July 9 deadline. U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to impose a 50% tariff on imports from the EU effective from June 1, before softening his stance to allow for further talks.

A spokesperson for the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, was not immediately available to respond to a request for comment.

— Sam Meredith

U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social a few moments ago, “A Federal Appeals Court has just ruled that the United States can use TARIFFS to protect itself against other countries. A great and important win for the U.S.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., announced Tuesday that Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs on most U.S. trading partners can remain in effect while it reviews a lower court decision blocking them. His tariff policy has become legally contentious on the grounds that they exceed presidential authority.

— Jenni Reid

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is growing more bullish about quantum computing — and he expects they’ll start solving real-world problems in the coming years.

Read more about the story here.

“We are within reach of being able to apply quantum computing in areas that can solve some interesting problems in the coming years,” Huang told the conference.

Speaking to CNBC this morning, UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel said the share price of its potential takeover target Commerzbank is currently too prohibitively expensive for a merger deal.

“At this [share] level, we would not see value for our investors. Actually, we would not, we are very happy for the gain we’ve had on the 30[% stake], but we wouldn’t see value for our investors,” he told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach.

UniCredit has built a surprise stake in Commerzbank of 28% since September through derivatives and has the European Central Bank’s authorization to hold up to 29.9% in the lender.

Commerzbank shares were 0.65% lower at 9:57 a.m. in London, with UniCredit up 0.6%.

Read Ruxandra Iordache’s story here.

Regional defense stocks are in positive territory this morning, with the Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defense index last seen trading 0.4% higher.

Stocks in the sector sold off on Tuesday, with the index shedding 3% as investors awaited news from high stakes U.S.-China trade talks in London. At the center of the talks were Chinese export controls over rare earth minerals, which are critical in the manufacturing of defense technologies.

Following a second day of negotiations, it was announced that Washington and Beijing’s representatives had reached an agreement, which would be put before their respective presidents for approval.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters that Chinese restrictions on rare earths were “fundamental” to the agreement.

Winners in the European defense sector on Wednesday are Germany’s Hensoldt and Renk, both up by around 2.7%, Sweden’s Saab, up 2.2%, and France’s Dassault Aviation, up 1.3%.

Having pared some of the gains seen in the wake of a European commitment to ramp up defense spending, the regional Aerospace and Defense index is now up by around 45% since the beginning of the year.

— Chloe Taylor

We’re 30 minutes into Wednesday’s trading session, and regional stocks are in mixed territory.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was last seen trading flat, with no cohesive movement among individual sectors.

Looking at major bourses, the French CAC 40 is currently Wednesday’s front-runner with a gain of around 0.3%. London’s FTSE 100 was last seen 0.1% higher, while the German DAX index was little changed.

— Chloe Taylor

Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday said he regretted some of the social media posts he made last week during an explosive public dispute with his formerly close ally, U.S. President Donald Trump.

Read more on this breaking news story here.

Zara owner Inditex on Wednesday posted weaker-than-expected quarterly sales while flagging a slower start to the summer season than last year amid broader economic uncertainty.

The Spanish retailer reported revenues of 8.27 billion euros ($9.44 billion) in the fiscal first quarter covering Feb. 1 to April 30, slightly shy of the 8.39 billion euros forecast by LSEG analysts.

Net income came in at 1.3 billion euros for the quarter, compared to the 1.32 billion euros analysts estimated.

— Karen Gilchrist

The U.S. and China have reached an agreement on trade, representatives from both sides said after a second day of high-level talks in London, with the deal now awaiting a nod from the leaders of the two countries.

“We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters.

Chinese restrictions on rare-earth exports to the U.S. are a “fundamental part” of the latest agreement and the U.S. expects the issue “will be resolved in this framework implementation,” Lutnick said.

He indicated U.S. restrictions on sales of advanced tech to China in recent weeks would be rolled back as Beijing approves rare-earth exports.

Read the full story here.

— Evelyn Cheng

Good morning from London, welcome to CNBC’s live blog covering European financial market action as well as the latest regional and global business news, data and earnings.

Futures data from IG suggests London’s FTSE will open 14 points lower at 8,852, Germany’s DAX down 105 points at 23,925, France’s CAC 40 down 9 points at 7,788 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 95 points lower at 40,082.

Global markets are having a mixed reaction to news that U.S. and Chinese officials reached a tentative consensus on trade after a second day of talks in London. The negotiators will now seek approval on the framework from the U.S. and Chinese presidents.

Asia-Pacific markets climbed overnight on the apparent breakthrough, but U.S. stock futures inched lower, with investors also looking ahead to May inflation data.

— Holly Ellyatt

Global markets will be keeping a close eye on the latest U.S. inflation report for May.

Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a 0.2% month-over-month increase, while the headline consumer price index is anticipated to have grown 2.4% on an annual basis. Hotter-than-expected data could spook investors who are already on edge over inflationary pressures and the trajectory of Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Traders will be keeping an eye on the Nvidia keynote address at the VivaTech conference in Paris on Wednesday, as well as Goldman Sachs’ annual European Financials Conference.

Meanwhile, U.K. investors will be looking out for the government’s “Spending Review,” in which it sets out day-to-day spending and investment plans for all government departments. 

Earnings are set to come from retail giant Inditex.

— Holly Ellyatt