Europe midday: Shares still muted ahead of Fed speech
European stocks were still flat at midday on Friday despite weaker US and Asia markets after the Kabul suicide bombings.
Investors were also awaiting US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech for any sign on the timeline for slowing of its bond purchases programme.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.03% in early deals. France’s CAC 40 index fell 0.3% after a survey showed French consumer confidence eased marginally in August.
US markets were also rattled by fresh calls for early tapering from some policymakers on Thursday.
"Explosions at Kabul airport were the big story and clearly didn’t help sentiment in the market on Thursday," said Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson.
"It’s all about today’s Jackson Hole event – lots of talk but ultimately, it’s going to come down to whether Powell talks up the taper or talks it down. Yesterday among the various ‘sideline’ chats, Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan didn’t say anything new – he expects to taper this year and hike next year but stressed the two decisions are entirely separate."
"James Bullard and Esther George also reiterated their view that the taper should start sooner rather than later. All three are on the hawkish end of the committee so this is not that big a deal or anything we didn’t know already."
In equity news, shares in Just Eat Takeaway.com, which owns GrubHub, fell after New York City Council approved legislation to license food-delivery apps and permanently cap commissions they can charge restaurants.
Aerospace and defence engineer Babcock rallied after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘equalweight’ at Barclays, which also lifted its price target to 424p from 315p.
The bank said that following the FY20 restatement, £2bn impairment, accounting policy changes and forthcoming disposal proceeds to mitigate balance sheet risk, Babcock looks set to generate meaningful cash flow from 2024, "returning as an attractive income play".
Norwegian fish farmer Salmar rose 3.75% after the company dropped plans to launch an 11.8bn crowns cash bid for rival Norway Royal Salmon (NRS). NRS shares fell 1.5%.
French auto parts maker Faurecia gained 2% after Citigroup hiked the price target on the company’s stock to €56 from €41.