By Georgi Kantchev

Global stocks dropped Wednesday amid continued concern about volatile oil prices and mounting questions about global growth.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 1% in midmorning trade, as energy and resources stocks dropped despite a rise in oil prices. Asian markets broadly fell.

On Wall Street, futures pointed to opening losses of 0.4% for the S&P 500 and 0.3% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Oil prices rose Wednesday after sinking deeper into a bear market Tuesday as concerns about oversupply and weakening demand engulfed the market. U.S. crude prices were up 0.7%, after a 7.1% tumble Tuesday, the steepest fall in three years.

The recent drop in crude prices added to a volatile stretch for broader financial markets, already under pressure from international trade frictions, a selloff in the tech sector and problems in the eurozone. Stocks have struggled to reach new highs since the S&P 500 capped off its worst month in more than seven years in October.

"There are a lot of issues out there: geopolitics, oil, trade wars, Brexit, take your pick," said Eric Stein, co-director of global income at Boston-based Eaton Vance. "It means more volatility is in store for the foreseeable future."

Mixed economic data out of China added to signs that global growth might be slowing. Business activities in the world's second-largest economy were mixed in October, as retail sales grew at the slowest pace in five months, while growth in industrial output and investment accelerated.

The data came as investors watched for the latest moves in the trade spat between U.S. and China. The countries have renewed talks on trade ahead of a meeting between President Trump and President Xi Jinping, set for the end of November at the Group of 20 nations summit in Buenos Aires.

The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of 16 currencies, was broadly flat. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to 3.134%, compared with 3.145% Tuesday. Yields move inversely to prices.

U.S. inflation data for October to be released Wednesday was expected to show a pickup in consumer prices. The report will be watched for signs of any potential fallout from trade tariffs on a broader set of consumer goods, analysts at Société Générale said in a report.

In Europe, investors were watching the latest developments in the Brexit negotiations after Britain and the European Union on Tuesday hammered out a draft deal on the U.K.'s exit from the bloc.

The pound was volatile, falling 0.1% against the dollar to $1.2962 after earlier gains, amid expectations of a contentious meeting later Wednesday when Prime Minister Theresa May is set to put the proposed pact before her cabinet.

"The bad news is that the prime minister now has to sell this to her divided cabinet and parliament--which will not be an easy task--whilst also hoping that it is passed by a qualified majority vote by the rest of the EU," Peter Dixon, analyst at Commerzbank, said in a note to clients.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.5% while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.2%. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.9%.

Write to Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 14, 2018 05:03 ET (10:03 GMT)

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