Brexit, China trade weigh on Europe markets

Trade saber-rattling and a dollop of Brexit anxiety pushed European markets down in early trading Friday. The pound, (GBPUSD) which swooned 0.6% Thursday on the latest Brexit news, dipped an additional 0.1% Friday to $1.2778. The China-U.S. trading narrative has dominated market commentary this week, largely in the absence of other major developments—or for that matter, developments in the negotiations themselves, which are paused.