European stocks had rebounded by midday after a sluggish start on Wednesday as strong corporate updates and takeover activity boosted sentiment.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index reversed early losses of 0.3% to be 0.5% higher, while the UK’s FTSE was down 0.53% on weaker-than-expected GDP figures.
Official data revealed the UK economy grew a touch less than expected in August despite the easing of Covid measures.
The economy grew 0.4% in August following a 0.1% contraction in July – weaker than consensus expectations for a 0.5% increase and leaves GDP 0.8% below its pre-pandemic level in February 2020, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.
July’s contraction was revised down from a previous estimate of 0.1% growth.
In equity news, shares in Norwegian property company Entra soared 11% to the top of the Stoxx after Swedish rival Balder said Tuesday it intends to submit a 24.5 billion kroner mandatory offer after building a 33.67% stake.
Under the Norwegian Securities Trading Act, it must make a mandatory offer to acquire all the shares it doesn’t currently hold.
German business software group SAP shares rose after the company raised its full-year outlook for a third time following a strong quarterly showing as more customers shift their IT operations to the cloud.
Online food ordering and delivery service Just Eat Takeaway.com fell 3%, after its third-quarter orders fell short of analysts’ estimates.
Man Group shares rose 8% after reporting that funds under management at the end of the third quarter were 3.1% higher compared with the prior three months, with positive momentum carrying over into the fourth quarter.
Shares in UK home builder Barratt rose 6.23% as it reported a strong start to its new fiscal year, with sales now higher than pre-pandemic levels.
THG, formerly The Hut Group, fell 5% after saying that it was not aware of any reason for the slump in its share price a day earlier.
