The pan-European Stoxx 600 opened 0.3 percent lower. London’s FTSE traded 0.4 percent lower, the German DAX was down 0.5 percent and the French CAC was trading slightly lower as well, according to IG.

Trading is expected to be cautious in Europe Wednesday amid uncertainty over trade talks between the world’s biggest economies, the U.S. and China, after reports emerged that the White House cancelled a trade planning meeting with Beijing.

·       Asian stocks trod water on Wednesday as concerns over the outlook for global economic growth and the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade war kept investors away from riskier assets.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.15 percent, stalling after climbing to a seven-week high on Monday.

“Risk asset prices have been essentially supported just by easing of U.S. rate hike expectations,” said Shuji Shirota, head of macro-economics strategy at HSBC Securities.

“Economic data has been weak and the U.S. government shutdown should be hurting economic sentiment, but even that has been considered as positive for risk assets, on the grounds that they make it difficult for the Fed to raise rates.”

·       Japan's Nikkei ended lower on Wednesday as weaker-than-expected December exports and concerns over U.S.-China relations added to worries about the outlook for the trade-reliant economy, though a softer yen offset pressure on exporters.

The Nikkei share average ended down 0.1 percent at 20,593.72, after flitting between negative and positive territory.

"Japan is in a difficult position because of its economic reliance on the United States and China. Japan's cyclical stocks depend on demand from the two counties," said Takatoshi Itoshima, a strategist at Pictet Asset Management.

·       China’s major stock indexes ended nearly flat on Wednesday, as hopes of more stimulus measures to shore up economic growth were offset by worries over the Sino-U.S. trade dispute.

The blue-chip CSI300 index slipped 0.1 percent to 3,141.05 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.1 percent to 2,581.00 points.

China will step up fiscal spending this year to support its economy, focusing on further cuts in taxes and fees for small firms, finance ministry officials said on Wednesday.