Markets cautious on trade deal, Bitcoin slides, British Airways-owner holds forecasts

Here are the top business, market, and economic stories you should be watching today in the UK, Europe, and abroad:

Markets cautious on trade deal

The recent rally for European markets paused on Friday, as the outlook for a phase one deal between the US and China became less clear.

Both sides have agreed to roll-back tariffs as part of a phase one agreement, Bloomberg reported. However, Peter Navarro, the Assistant to the President and Director of the National Trade Council, told Fox Business on Thursday night that there was “no agreement.”

The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was down 0.4%, with commodity stocks dragging the index lower. Russian steel giant Evraz (EVR.L) was down 3.75%, platinum and copper giant Anglo American (AAL.L) was down 2.8%, and Glencore (GLEN.L) was off 2%.

Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) was down 0.3%, France’s CAC 40 (^FCHI) was down 0.4%, and the Euronext 100 (^N100) was down by 0.4%.

Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei (^N225) closed up by 0.2%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng…