Europe open: Markets cautious ahead of BoE decision

European markets were trading on the backfoot as traders kept a wary eye on the Bank of England ahead of its interest rate decision at noon and the monthly US jobs report due out the following day.

As of 0844 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was of by 0.17% or 0.67 points at 377.96, alongside a dip of 0.37% or 45.24 points to 12,136.24 in the German Dax while the Cac-40 was slipping 0.20% or 10.15 points to 5,097.10.

According to some analysts, the White House's decision to impose sanctions on Russia was also dampening sentiment.

"European shares look set for a mostly lower start as corporate earnings including Italian bank UniCredit and German carmaker BMW come in thick and fast. There will be pressure for Europe to follow the US lead on Russian sanctions, a negative for European business, especially if Russia retaliates.

"Markets will be hoping Trump is sacrificing his desire for better relations with Russia to improve his chance of striking cross-party agreement on tax reform," said Jasper Lawler, Head of Research at LCG.

As for the BoE, consensus was expecting no change in policy, with the Monetary Policy Committee seen voting 6 to 2 to keep Bank Rate at 0.25%.

However, for some economists there was a slight chance that it might opt for a 25 basis point hike in a 'one-off' move to return rates to where they were prior to the referendum.

Against that backdrop, purchasing managers' indices for the currency bloc's largest economies surprised to the downside, with the German PMI printing at 53.1, down from a preliminary reading of 53.5.

The French services PMI on the other hand edged past forecasts, slipping from 56.9 in the month before to 56.0 (consensus: 59.9).

Euro area area retail sales figures are scheduled for release at 1000 BST.

Later in the day, initial US weekly jobless claims data is set for release at 1330 BST, followed by the ISM services sector purchasing managers' index for July at 1500 BST.

Unicredit was a standout gainer on the heels of a surprisingly solid set of second quarter numbers, with net income rising to €945m from €916m in the same period one year ago (consensus: €587m).

Adidas was trading a smidgen higher after posting another strong quarter thanks to sales in the US and China.

BMW saw revenues jump by 7.5% over the three months to June, helped by sales of its new 5-series vehicle. Management also raised its outlook for its auto segment, telling shareholders it was now expecting a "solid" full-year performance.

Siemens was also in the headlines following its disclosure of plans to float its healthcare unit in the first half of 2018.