European stocks opened flat on Wednesday after closing at record high in the previous session, as investors awaited more economic data due this week, while H&M shares jumped on upbeat quarterly results.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was steady at 511.07, as of 0816 GMT, hovering near a record high hit on Tuesday.
Oil and gas shares were the biggest drag on the index, down 0.7% fall, mirroring weak oil prices on rising US crude inventories.
Oil giants Shell and BP were down 0.8% and 1%, respectively.
Swedish software firm Fortnox also weighed on the index, dropping 9.6%.
Outweighing the losses, H&M topped gains, with a 12% jump, after the world’s second-largest listed fashion retailer beat its first-quarter operating profit estimates.
Recent dovish signals from major central banks and a rally in technology stocks buoyed by the artificial intelligence fervour spurred STOXX 600 to record highs. It is eyeing a second straight quarterly gain, up 6.7% so far.
European shares tread water as investors assess Fed rate
Market focus will now shift to the euro-zone consumer and economic sentiment data for March later in the day, before the US personal expenditure consumption data on Friday, for further cues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate trajectory.
DS Smith jumped 7.3% after the British paper and packaging firm said it was in talks with International Paper for an all-stock offer deal valued at 5.72 billion pounds ($7.22 billion).
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