Europe open: Shares flat but Delivery Hero surges on Taiwan sale

European shares were flat at the open on Tuesday as investors digested UK employment and pay data, while on the corporate front shares in Delivery Hero surged by a fifth after it agreed to sell its Foodpanda delivery business in Taiwan for $950m to Uber.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index barely moved the needle at 520.96, with regional bourses mixed.

UK unemployment nudged higher in March, official data showed on Tuesday, in line with expectations, despite wages continuing to grow.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK unemployment rate was estimated to be 4.3% in January to March, up from 4.2% previously.

Annual growth in employees’ average regular earnings, excluding bonuses, was 6% in January to March. Including bonuses, growth held steady at 5.7%. Analysts had expected it to slow to 5.5%.

In other equity news, shares in German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall fell after sales and profit in the first quarter missed expectations.

Anglo American fell after unveiling plans to focus on its copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients operations, with plans to offload coal mining, nickel, platinum and De Beers diamond operations.

Vodafone gained after reporting better-than-expected full year cash flow, and a return to growth at its troubled German division.

Shares in Veolia rose after the French waste and water management company met firts-quarter core profit expectations, buoyed by a strong performance in its water technologies unit and synergies with Suez.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com