Europe midday: Stocks waver after eurozone services data; investors mull French election debate

European equities wavered on Wednesday despite eurozone services data coming in at a near six-year high, while investors were digesting the second television debate for the French presidential election.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was flat at 380.30, Germany’s DAX was down 0.31% to 12,244.44 and France’s CAC was up 0.11% to 5,106.58.

Meanwhile, Brent crude rose 0.91% to $54.67 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate was up 0.93% to $51.51.

In currency markets, the euro was flat versus the dollar at 1.0667 and down 0.34% to 0.8551 against the pound, which was boosted by better-than-expected UK services data.

On the data front, IHS Markit's final eurozone composite purchasing managers' index - which measures activity in both the services and manufacturing sectors - rose to 56.4 from 56.0 the month before, but was below the flash estimate of 56.7.

A reading above 50 signals expansion, while a reading below indicates contraction.

The final eurozone services business activity index came in at 56.0 in March, down from the flash estimate of 56.5 but up from February's 55.5.

France and Germany accounted for a big chunk of the growth, with their PMIs both coming in at 70-month highs.

Elsewhere, investors were mulling Tuesday's televised debate for France’s presidential election, where independent centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right Marine Le Pen clashed over the European Union and the euro.

An Elabe poll for the second round on 23 April showed that far-left Jean-Luc Melenchon, who has been making ground recently, won Tuesday’s debate with 25% of people asked saying that he performed best, followed by Macron in second place with 21% and Le Pen in third with 11%. A separate Opinionway poll had Melenchon, Macron and Fillon all tied on 18% followed by Le Pen with 11%.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank said that the results of the polls "would suggest that the debate has done little to further Le Pen’s chances with the Elabe pollster highlighting that the fierce competition on the anti-European issues contributed to Le Pen’s mediocre score".

"As we said following the first debate though, Hilary Clinton was seen as the comfortable winner in all the US Presidential debates so it’s worth taking these results in context".

Le Pen and Macron are expected to make it to the final run-off on 7 May with Macron the eventual victor.

After European markets close, investors will also be looking out for the latest FOMC minutes at 1900 BST and a meeting between US president Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday.

In corporate news, Commerzbank rose 2.47% following reports that the German lender is planning to cut 7,800 jobs as part of a restructuring plan.

French IT consultancy CapGemini gained 2.04% after analysts at JP Morgan increased its price target to €100 from €90 and reiterated an ‘overweight’ rating.

Miners and oil stocks were the standout gainers on the FTSE 100, led by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which were up 2.43% and 1.22%, respectively. Energy shares were boosted by a rise in oil prices after the American Petroleum Institute reported a draw of 1.8m barrels in US crude oil inventories last week, versus expectations of a 435,000 draw.

Syngenta added 1.18% after US antitrust officials gave the green light for China National Chemical Corp’s acquisition of the Swiss pesticide maker providing ChemChina sells three crop chemical businesses.