Europe midday: Stocks flat ahead of US Fed decision, bounce on hold
Stocks across the Continent are little changed come midday, with investors opting to sit on their hands ahead of the US central bank's policy decision later in the day.
To take note of, according to some market observers, the outlook for trade negotiations with China and interest rates in the US may be the main determinants of where stockmarkets are headed in the very near-term.
Against that backdrop, Chris Beauchamp at IG was telling clients: "Some of the enthusiasm has dimmed across European markets this morning, although the broader recovery from the indecision of earlier in the week remains intact.
"Some caution ahead of the FOMC decision this evening is to be expected, but overall we should see equities remain resilient, buoyed by the economic outlook and a decent showing from US earnings season."
By noontime in London, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was ahead by 0.32% or 1.18 points to 367.56, while France and Germany's Cac and Dax indices, respectively, were hugging the flatline.
Italy's FTSE Mibtel on the other hand was slipping by 0.56% or 109.97 points to 19,430.98.
Weighing on the shares traded in Milan, according to the European Commission's Autumn Economic Forecasts, Italy's public spending deficit was now seen ballooning to -2.9% and -3.1%, as a proportion of the country's gross domestic product, in 2019 and 2020.
Significantly, the deficit forecast for next year was well above the 2.4% target set out by officials in Rome in the budget proposals they submitted to Brussels, while that for 2020 was above the 3.0% limit set out in the euro area's so-called Stability and Growth Pact.
On the back of those projections, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Italian government note rose nine basis points to 3.38%, although it had since fallen back to 3.38%.
Economic data published on Thursday in the euro area was a tad on the weak side.
According to the Federal Office of Statistics, Germany's seasonally adjusted trade surplus slipped from €18.2bn in August to €17.6bn for September as exports fell more quickly than purchases from overseas.
In Spain meanwhile, INE reported that industrial production in the Mediterranean country shrank at a 0.7% month-on-month pace in September (consensus: -0.2%).