Europe midday: Shares flat after hitting record highs; TeamViewer soars
European shares were flat at midday after hitting record levels in early trade on Wednesday as investor sentiment returned to caution ahead of key central bank meetings this week.
The pan-European Stoxx was flat having risen 0.2% in early deals. The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a tapering of its its $120bn monthly bond-buying programme and the Bank of England tipped to lift interest rates amid rising inflation.
In regional economic news, the jobless rate in the euro zone declined in September after a strong economic recovery over summer.
The eurozone jobless rate fell to 7.4% in September from 7.5% in August, data from the European Union's statistics agency, Eurostat, showed, below the 7.5% forecast by economists.
In the UK, British businesses reported faster growth in October, helped by fewer curbs on foreign travel, but the Bank of England is likely to be worried about record rises in the costs faced by businesses, which are being passed on to consumers.
The IHS Markit Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 57.8 in October from 54.9 in September, its highest since July and well above an initial flash estimate of 56.8.
"It appears that fears about inflation eroding margins are so far unfounded. Whilst markets may have concerns about the Fed’s tapering and eventual tightening, these seem to have been well telegraphed thus far with the Fed chasing to catch up with bond markets and not the other way around," said Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson.
In equity news, Lufthansa was up 5.5% as the airline posted a return to profit for the first time since the coronavirus crisis, boosted by the easing of travel restrictions.
BMW edged ahead as the German automaker reported higher quarterly profit, though it reiterated its warning on the global chip crunch.
Shares in remote working software maker TeamViewer rose 10.7% to top the Stoxx as the company maintained annual guidance and said it would reconfigure growth initiatives and cost structure.
Vestas, the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, slumped almost 12% after posting a lower-than-expected third-quarter operating profit and trimming its full-year profit forecast. Shares in Siemens Gamesa Renewables and Spanish wind farm operator EDP Renovaveis were also lower on the news.
German online fashion retailer Zalando slumped after a sharp fall in quarterly profit on price cuts to keep customers shopping online as stores reopened.