Europe midday: Stocks edge lower in thin volumes as investors keep eye on oil

European stocks edged lower on Friday, with little in the way of corporate or macroeconomic news to drive markets as investors continued to keep an eye on oil prices.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.5%, Germany’s DAX was 0.4% lower and France’s CAC 40 was off 0.7%.

At the same time, oil prices wavered between gains and losses, taking a breather following solid gains this week that saw prices hit bull market territory on Thursday amid hopes an output freeze will be agreed at the OPEC meeting next month.

West Texas Intermediate was flat at $48.21 a barrel and Brent crude was down 0.2% at $50.81.

IG analyst Joshua Mahony said: “Essentially the announcement of a meeting in September has seen Brent turn from a bear market to a bull market in 16 days. The Saudis have been talking up the prospects of a deal, and now need to deliver on that or we could see a rapid retreat in the oil price.”

Corporate news was thin on the ground.

AP Moeller-Maersk was on the front foot after the group said it is still considering several options in its strategic review following a media report it was looking into a two-way split into an energy and transport company.

BMW shares were in the red after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’ and cut the price target on valuation grounds.

In London, William Hill rallied after Rank Group and 888 Holdings abandoned their proposed tie-up with the bookmaker, which said on Thursday that it now expects operating profit for 2016 to be at the top end of the previously guided range of £260m to £280m.

Data released earlier by Destatis showed German producer prices ticked higher in July.

The index of producer prices for industrial products was up 0.2%, following a 0.4% increase in June and May. Economists had been expecting the index to nudge up 0.1%.

Compared to July 2015, the index of producer prices was down 2%, which was a touch less steep than the 2.1% drop pencilled in by economists.

Energy prices were the biggest driver, down 6.2% compared with July 2015, while prices of intermediate goods were down 1.8%.