Stocks tick lower ahead of U.S.-China 'Phase 1' trade deal signing

TOKYO (Reuters) - Stocks slipped in Asian trade on Wednesday as investors awaited the signing of an initial U.S.-China trade deal, with sentiment somewhat dented by comments from the U.S. Treasury Secretary that tariffs would remain in place for now.European shares were expected to follow suit, with major European stock futures trading down around 0.2-0.3%.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.48%, retreating from its 19-month peak marked on Tuesday, and Japan's..