Europe midday: Investors cautious ahead of Trump inauguration

European stocks were little changed on Friday, as investors grew cautious ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration, with basic resources in the red following uninspiring Chinese growth figures.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was flat at 363.11, France’s CAC 40 was down 0.4% to 4,860.45, while Germany’s DAX and Italy’s FTSE MIB fell 0.16% to 11,615.72 and 19,522.07.

Meanwhile, oil prices edged higher ahead of a weekend meeting in Vienna to analyse producers’ compliance with the OPEC-led supply cut. West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude were up 1.2% to $52.76 a barrel and $54.82, respectively.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: “The day of Donald Trump’s inauguration has arrived and financial markets are displaying exactly the kind of caution you would expect given his incredible ability to send investors into frenzy.

“Throughout his campaign and since winning the presidency back in November, we’ve repeatedly seen two sides to Trump; the market friendly pro-growth, low regulation side and the protectionist, combative side that makes investors extremely uneasy. With it being unclear which side he’ll lean more towards today, traders are currently opting to sit on the fence but I imagine this will change dramatically later one once the ceremony gets underway.”

Basic resources were among the worst performers, with the Stoxx 600 sub-index for the sector down 1.2% after disappointing Chinese growth data.

Figures released earlier by the National Bureau of Statistics showed GDP expanded 6.8% on the year in the fourth quarter of 2016. This was ahead of the 6.7% forecasts by economists. For 2016 as a whole, however, the economy grew 6.7%, within the government’s 6.5% to 7% target but marking the weakest growth in 26 years.

In corporate news, Danish insurer Tryg was down 1.62% after its fourth-quarter profit missed expectations.

French voucher and prepaid card provider Edenred was 2.8% weaker on news that Colony’s Colday E, the main shareholder, sold its stake in the company.

Italian lender UBI Banca rose 2.82% over its upcoming acquisition of three smaller rivals, while Germany’s Commerzbank rose 3.08% after analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded its price target.

FTSE 250 merchant bank Close Brothers nudged up 0.84% as it expressed confidence over its full-year results and reported growth in its loan book in the five months to the end of December.

Trump's inauguration is due at 1700 GMT.