Europe midday: Stocks yield early gains

European shares beat expectations and opened brightly on Tuesday, but come midday the persistent inflationary worries had whittled away their initial gains.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up by 0.11% to 465.77 with all the main regional bourses higher alongside, even if they had all also come off their best levels of the session.

Germany's Dax was edging up by 0.07% to 15,215.80, while Spain's Ibex 35 was climbing 1.1% to 8,652.30.

Eur/Usd was 0.31% lower to 1.1407 but the yield on the benchmark 10-year Italian government bond was again to be seen moving higher, by three basis points to 1.84%.

In equity news, BP shares were up 1% as the oil and gas major recorded massive annual profits on the back of soaring commodity prices.

Holiday company TUI shares were down 4.3% despite an upbeat update that said summer travel bookings were hitting pre-COVID levels.

French care home company Orpea jumped 10% as investors picked up shares on the cheap after persistent sell-offs following allegations of malpractice in care homes.

Housebuilder Bellway was also in the black as it reported a solid first-half trading performance and strong underlying demand.

Ocado shares plunged 12% after the British online supermarket disappointed in its earnings report before the bell, with core earnings weighed down by tech investment.

EdF was down 2% after the nuclear electricity giant lowered its forecast for nuclear output in 2022 from 300-300 terawatt hours to 295-315.