The pan-European Stoxx 600
index was down 0.05% by 9:00 a.m. London time, with sectors trading in mixed territory. Autos and oil and gas stocks both lost 1.2% while mining stocks added 0.4%.
Insurance stocks gained 1.4% following strong earnings from Swiss insurers. Swiss Re shares gained 3.9% while Zurich Insurance
shares added 2.3%.
Shares of EasyJet
, meanwhile, fell 7.2% before paring losses slightly after the low-cost airline posted a slightly larger than expected pre-tax loss of £350 million ($443 million) for the first half of the year. Travel and leisure stocks were dragged lower, losing 0.3%.
Earnings also came Thursday from Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, BT.
The U.S. consumer price index rose 0.3% in April, below the 0.4% rise predicted by the Dow Jones, data released Wednesday showed. Consumer prices still grew 3.4% from a year ago, in line with market estimates, but the data has encouraged traders to believe that the U.S. Federal Reserve could begin to cut rates in the near future.
Asia-Pacific markets rose Thursday after Wall Street benchmarks closed at record highs overnight following the inflation data. U.S. stock futures were near flat overnight.
Shares of British telecom company BT
soared 10.5%, on course for its biggest daily gain since November 2021, after announcing a cost-cutting program.
In its full-year results released Thursday, revenues remained steady at £20.8 billion ($26.3 billion) in the year to March, up slightly from £20.7 billion the year prior. However, profit after tax fell 55% to £855 million.
CEO Allison Kirkby said the company is now laser-focused on doubling free cash flow over the next five years and will potentially dispose of its global business to focus on the U.K.
“As we move into the next phase of BT Group’s transformation, we are sharpening our focus to be better for our customers and the country, by accelerating the modernisation of our operations, and by exploring options to optimise our global business. This will create a simpler BT Group, fully focused on connecting the UK, and well positioned to generate significant growth for all our stakeholders,” she said.