Mubasher: European stocks edged higher earlier on Tuesday as investors were cautiously awaiting the outcome of high-level trade negotiations between the US and China due to kick off on Thursday, CNBC reported.

The pan-European benchmark STOXX 600 rose by 0.1% in early trade, led by tech shares which surged 0.8%, as financial services stocks fell by 0.7%.

Anticipations for the trade talks to yield significant progress waned on Monday after US Commerce Department blacklisted 28 Chinese firms on allegations that they were involved in the abuse of ethnic Uighurs in China’s Xinjiang province.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing took another turn for the worse over a tweet from Houston Rockets’ general manager voicing support of protests in Hong Kong, which was criticised by the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the tweet drawn backlash from mainland China.

Back in Europe, figures released before the bell on Tuesday showed a surprise increase of Germany’s industrial production in August.

UK-based electrical parts manufacturer Electrocomponents Electrocomponents shares jumped 5.1% earlier in the session.

Meanwhile, German biotech Qiagen dived by 17% to its lowest in three years, after it reported third-quarter sales that came well below expectations and announced that its CEO Peer Schatz will resign.