Just days away from a European deadline, Iran said Friday its foreign minister would hold a telephone conference call with his French, German and British counterparts to avoid the reimposition of United Nations sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program.

The call, planned for Friday by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, comes as the three parties to Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal threaten to reimpose those sanctions under a mechanism known as "snapback" in the accord. The European Union's chief diplomat will also join the call, IRNA said.

The French wine exporters federation said Thursday it was "hugely disappointed" by the European Union's admission that it failed to secure a tariff exemption for the sector in the US-EU trade deal.

"We are certain that this will create major difficulties for the wines and spirits sector," the head of the wine and spirits federation FEVS Gabriel Picard said, while France's minister for trade Laurent Saint-Martin said his government would seek "additional exemptions" as part of the US-EU trade deal.

The French wine exporters federation said Thursday it was "hugely disappointed" by the European Union's admission that it failed to secure a tariff exemption for the sector in the US-EU trade deal.

"We are certain that this will create major difficulties for the wines and spirits sector," the head of the wine and spirits federation FEVS Gabriel Picard said, while France's minister for trade Laurent Saint-Martin said his government would seek "additional exemptions" as part of the US-EU trade deal.

China has been expanding use of digital currencies as it promotes wider use of its yuan, or renminbi, to reflect its status as the world's second-largest economy and challenge the overwhelming sway of the U.S. dollar in international trade and finance.

Wall Street is ticking lower in premarket trading Thursday as investors perused Walmart's latest financial results ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech on Friday.

Futures for the S&P 500 turned 0.2% lower before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.3%. Nasdaq futures edged 0.1% lower.

U.S. President Donald Trump called Wednesday for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to step down, expanding pressure on the central bank after recent criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates sooner.

The Brazilian government on Wednesday unveiled a plan to support local companies affected by a 50% tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on several of the country's exports.

Dubbed "Sovereign Brazil," the plan provides for a credit lifeline of 30 billion reais ($5.5 billion), among other measures.

China imposed sanctions on two Lithuanian banks in what it said was retaliation for the European Union including two Chinese financial institutions in its latest round of sanctions against Russia.

Lithuania's UAB Urbo Bankas and Mano Bankas AB are prohibited from having any cooperation with individuals or institutions in China, according to a statement Wednesday from the Ministry of Commerce.

Britain's economy slowed down during the second quarter of the year in the face of higher taxes on businesses and global tariff uncertainties, but growth came in higher than anticipated, official figures showed Thursday.

The Office for National Statistics said output expanded by 0.3% during the second quarter from the previous three-month period, largely as a result of a strong performance in June.

Markets are largely unchanged early Thursday ahead of a key meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week.

Futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq all ticked down less than 0.1% before the opening bell.