By Georgi Kantchev 

Global stocks edged lower Wednesday amid a continued fall in oil prices and mounting questions about global growth.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.7% shortly after the open, dragged down by energy stocks. Asian markets were mostly in the red.

On Wall Street, futures pointed to an opening loss of 0.2% for both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Oil prices extended their drop after sinking deeper into a bear market Tuesday as concerns about oversupply and weakening demand engulfed the market. U.S. crude prices were down 0.4% after a 7.1% tumble on Tuesday, the steepest fall in three years.

The drop in crude prices adds 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 down. 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 were watching for the latest moves in the trade spat between U.S. and China. The two countries have renewed talks on trade ahead of a meeting between President Trump and President Xi Jinping, set for the end of the month at the Group of 20 nations summit in Buenos Aires.

In currencies, 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 3.141%, compared with 3.145% on Tuesday. Yields move inversely to prices.

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 $1.2967 after earlier gains, amid expectations of a contentious meeting later in the day when Prime Minister Theresa May is set to put the proposed pact before her deeply divided cabinet on Wednesday.

"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, wrote in a note to clients.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.8% 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 03:52 ET (08:52 GMT)