Stoxx 600, DAX, FTSE, UK inflation

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for European affairs, told CNBC that U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to slap 30% tariffs on EU goods is “completely unacceptable.”

“It is certainly interesting times — now, President Trump announced that he will impose 30% tariffs on Europe, and I have to say that is completely unacceptable, that is unjustified,” she said in an interview with CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition.”

“Europe is a trading partner that you can rely on, that you can trust in, and we will go into negotiation with the U.S. in good faith – but we also know that Europe … having a single market with 450 million consumers, we are very attractive market, and therefore we also ready to defend our interests, and we are ready to come with countermeasures if required.”

When asked if the EU could reach a trade compromise with Washington before Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline, Bjerre said it was “very hard to say.”

“We keep being surprised about which [tariff rate] is now imposed on us,” she said. “It started [at] 10% then it was even more, then it was back to 10%, then it was suspended, and now it’s 30% – it is, I have to say, quite unreliable.”

– Chloe Taylor

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.

— Holly Ellyatt

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.

— Arjun Kharpal

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.

— Holly Ellyatt

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.

— Holly Ellyatt