Europe midday: Stocks flat as investors digest Burberry, Unilever results

European stocks wavered in a tight range on Thursday as oil prices slipped and investors sifted through some disappointing corporate news.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx 600 index and Germany’s DAX were both up 0.1%, while France’s CAC 40 was flat.

In the UK, the FTSE 100 was flat after the Bank of England kept rates and the size of the asset purchase programme unchanged at 0.5% and £375bn. The BoE voted 9-0 to keep its policy settings on hold.

At the same time, oil prices pared losses as the International Energy Agency said the global oil glut was set to ease by the end of this year. It also said that any potential agreement to freeze output at the Doha meeting this weekend would have only a limited impact on supplies.

West Texas Intermediate was down 0.2% to $41.66 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.3% lower at $44.07.

“It is common knowledge that oil prices have partly attributed to the resurgence of global stocks, but if the Doha meeting on Sunday disappoints, both oil and stock markets may sink like a stone,” said FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga .

On the corporate front, Burberry was under the cosh after the fashion house warned that profits in 2017 were likely to be around the bottom of the range of analysts’ forecasts.

Consumer goods group Unilever was also in the red after reporting growth in underlying sales and volume, though the top line declined in its first quarter update.

French retailer Groupe Casino nudged lower after reporting an 11% drop in first-quarter revenue.

On the upside, Swiss food company Nestle pushed up after its first-quarter sales beat analysts’ estimates.

In London, shares in Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One surged following reports it was in talks with ITV over a possible takeover, although the company said early on Thursday that it had not received any approaches.

Still to come on the data front, investors will look to the release of US initial jobless claims and the consumer price index at 1330 BST.

“US inflation is expected to have picked up in March, rising to 1.2% from 1% in February, as the sharp drop in oil prices continues to fall out of the year on year comparison, albeit not as quickly as previously expected due to the continued slide up to January this year,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.