The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.1% by 0810 GMT. Financial services and banks were among the biggest laggards, falling 0.6% each.
Investors have been bruised by steep declines this week after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to implement a wave of increasing tariffs from February 1 on eight European countries until the U.S. is allowed to buy Greenland.
So far, Trump has given few indications that he will de-escalate, and investors remain on edge as they await his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos later in the day.
Rio Tinto beat expectations for quarterly iron ore and copper production, sending its stock up 3.1%.
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Shares of Barry Callebaut rose 5.9% after it appointed former Unilever boss Hein Schumacher as its chief executive.
Meanwhile, British consumer prices rose more than expected in December, but services inflation, closely watched by the Bank of England, came in line with estimates.
London’s blue-chip FTSE 100 was flat.