Europe midday: Stocks edge into the green ahead of BoE

European markets flipped into the green shortly before noon on Thursday as strong earnings from Societe Generale cheered investors who were also eyeing a policy decision from the Bank of England.

"After a solid run-up in the previous session, gains are harder to come by today. Even so, European bourses gave it a good shot in early trade before slipping lower. The positive tone remains as investors digest a slew of corporate earnings, upbeat data and look ahead to the Bank of England rate announcement," said Sophie Griffiths, Market Analyst, UK & EMEA, OANDA.

"European indices closed steeply higher on Wednesday on reopening optimism and impressive Eurozone business activity. The good news has kept on flowing today, suggesting the Eurozone economy has turned a corner."

As of 1148 BST, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.19% at 440.70, but nearly all the major regional bourses were higher - even if only barely.

The Dax was edging up 0.03% to 15,174.93, alongside a 0.20% rise to 24,512.56 for the FTSE Mibtel, although the Ibex 35 was dipping 0.28% to 8,943.0.

In equity news, shares in Societe Generale rose 4% as the French bank recorded a higher than expected first quarter profit with its equities unit rebounding from to post its best performance in six years.

Italian bank UniCredit was also higher after posting better-than-expected first-quarter net profit thanks to higher revenues driven by fee and trading income and shrinking loan losses.

Net income for the first quarter came in at €814m. Analysts were expecting a net income of 204 million euros.

Shares in global nutrition group Glanbia were up 5% after the company said its first-quarter revenues were up 10.5% on a constant currency basis compared to 2020.

Anheuser-Busch InBev gained 3.8% after it reported first-quarter earnings ahead of expectations and said North America boss Michel Doukeris will replace Carlos Brito as chief executive officer.

Online ticket platform Trainline fell 6% after the company reported wider losses as demand plunged during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mondi shares were lower by 4% despite the company reporting strong demand for its packaging as online shopping surged and customers looked for more eco-friendly products in the first quarter.

There was further good news on the economic front with Eurostat reporting a 2.7% month-on-month jump in euro area retail sales (consensus: 1.6%), alongside sharp upwards revisions to prior months' data.