European stocks were little changed by midday on Thursday, having ticked higher at the open, as investors awaited the release of US initial jobless claims later in the day and the non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
The benchmark Stoxx 600 index was up 0.1% at 473.77, while Germany’s DAX was down 0.1% at 15,817.10 and France’s CAC 40 was flat at 6,758.76.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: “The ADP reading was a shocker, but given its loose relationship with the NFP number there is enough evidence from history to allow investors to ignore the number for the time being.
“Today’s initial claims will provide the amuse bouche between the two acronyms, with the hope that a drop in claims will put markets in a better mood for tomorrow’s official number.”
In equity markets, London-listed engineer and GKN owner Melrose Industries rallied after saying it was trading ahead of expectations as the turnaround company reported a narrower loss for the first half of 2021. The company reported a statutory pre-tax loss of £151m for the six months to the end of June compared with a £585m loss a year earlier as revenue rose to £3.54bn from £3.39bn.
Elsewhere, biopharmaceutical company Swedish Orphan Biovitrum surged after US private equity firm Advent International and Aurora Investment offered to buy the group in a deal valued at about 69.4bn Swedish crowns.
