Stock traders found little to get the pulse racing yesterday as the trade war front was eerily quiet and Thanksgiving sapped global trading volumes.

With an almost empty economics schedule, markets were left with only the US-China trade conflict to trade on, as so often in recent weeks and months, said Craig Erlam, Senior Market Analyst at Oanda Europe.

European stock markets were trading mildly higher, except for London which slipped in response to a stronger pound which was boosted by expectations that Britain’s ruling Conservatives will win next month’s general election.

US President Donald Trump’s decision to sign a bill in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and back their rights has sparked warnings of retaliation from Beijing and fuelled fears for negotiations on a mini trade deal that are in their final straight.

On the corporate front, shares in Daimler dropped on the Frankfurt bourse as the German luxury automaker said it would slash at least 10,000 jobs worldwide in a major cost-cutting drive to help finance the switch to electric cars.

Shares in UK online supermarket Ocado surged after the company announced a deal to provide artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to Japanese retail giant Aeon.

What little economic figures there were to trade on, data showed inflation in the eurozone rose to 1.0 per cent, higher than analysts’ projections but still lagging under the weight of trade tensions.