Europe open: Shares flat on China worries; Dr Martens gets a kicking

European shares edged lower at the open on Thursday as a surge in Chinese Covid cases rising hit sentiment , with trading volumes also expected to be thin due to US markets being closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was flat at 0820 GMT despite an upbeat session in the US after minutes of the US Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes showed a "substantial majority" of policymakers agreed it would "likely soon be appropriate" to slow the pace of interest rate rises.

Shares in China fell as Covid cases continued to rise to record levels.

In equity news, shares famous UK bootmaker Dr Martens took a kicking as interim profits slipped and the company said it would raise prices to offset inflation, even as it hiked the dividend by almost a third.

UK and French home improvement retailer Kingfisher slipped as the company held annual financial guidance.

Remy Cointreau fell almost 4% despite reporting a stronger-than-expected 27.2% organic jump in first-half operating profit, driven by strong demand for its premium cognac in China and the US and cost controls.

Intertek shares fell as the testing, certification and inspection company posted a jump in revenue on Thursday as it hailed robust demand for its ATIC Solutions business and a recovery in China.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com