European shares hovered near record highs at midday on Wednesday as investors eyed US data later in the day.
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.17% with all major Continental bourses higher. US inflation figures for July are due at 1330 BST.
In equity news, Dutch bank ABN Amro led the index with a gain of more than 4% after it said it would resume dividend payments as an economic recovery helped a stronger-than-expected bounce in net profit.
UK cybersecurity company Avast gained after US rival NortonLifeLock agreed to buy the company for up to $8.6bn.
Wind turbine maker Vestas fell 1.94% as it cut its 2021 outlook after missing second-quarter operating profit forecasts on supply chain disruptions and higher costs.
British Life insurer Phoenix fell as the company said it was on track to hit the upper end of its annual cash generation target range, but swung to a pre-tax interim loss.
German engineer Thyssenkrupp slumped almost 7% after it cut its full-year free cash flow outlook.
UK food delivery company Deliveroo fell despite a doubling in value of orders on its platform in the first half of the year.
Spirax-Sarco Engineering was higher after lifting its dividend by 15% as it reported a 39% increase in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit.
Prudential gained as it said first-half new business profits rose 25% and adjusted operating profit from continuing operations was 19% higher, but struck a cautious note over the short-term outlook due to Covid uncertainty.
On the downside, Quilter slumped despite hailing “robust” interim results, as it set aside more money to cover compensation relating to the Lighthouse DB transfer review.
