Europe midday: Stocks nudge lower; all eyes on Yellen

European stocks edged lower on Friday as investors awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen at Jackson Hole.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index and France’s CAC 40 were down 0.1%, while Germany’s DAX was off 0.2%.

At the same time, oil prices were a little weaker. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.3% at $47.21 a barrel and Brent crude was down 0.6% at $49.39.

Investors were choosing to err on the side of caution as they looked for clues from Yellen on the timing of an interest rate hike.

But Societe Generale said it was doubtful she will signal the timing of the next move.

"She will want to strike a balance between an improved economic outlook requiring a normalisation of rates and ongoing caution given uncertainties on inflation, global economic and financial trends, and the neutral fed funds rate.

“Yellen’s developing thoughts on the inflation and policy implications of low inflation and lower potential GDP growth are key to understanding how the Fed will eventually normalise rates.”

On the corporate front, Gemalto racked up healthy gains following the release of its second-quarter numbers, while Volkswagen advanced on news of a diesel-related settlement with US dealers.

BAE Systems was up after Berenberg upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’, saying it expects a material order book uplift.

Restaurant Group was a high riser after saying it swung to a pre-tax loss in the first half on the back of restructuring costs and announcing the closure of 33 outlets.

Media group Vivendi was in the red after posting a drop in second-quarter adjusted net income and saying it will cut €300m in costs from its pay-TV unit.

Still to come, the second release of second-quarter US GDP is at 1330 BST, while University of Michigan consumer sentiment is at 1500 BST.

Yellen is due to give her speech at Jackson Hole at 1500 BST.