Europe: Shares struggle for direction after record run

[LONDON] European shares opened flat on Monday after optimism around a strong earnings season and the European Central Bank's reiteration that inflation is temporary was offset by concerns ahead of US inflation data this week.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat as of 0806 GMT (4.06 pm Singapore time) after hitting record levels on Friday.

Asian markets were also seen without direction due to a combination of last week's upbeat US October jobs report and caution ahead of a reading on US consumer prices on Wednesday, which could affect the timing of a US Federal Reserve rate hike.

Oil stocks were the top gainers in Europe, up 0.6 per cent, as crude prices firmed after Opec+ producers pushed back against a US call to accelerate output as demand nears pre-pandemic levels.

Providing the biggest boost to the STOXX 600, Richemont advanced 3.8 per cent on the heels of news reports that activist hedge fund Third Point had built a stake in the luxury goods firm.

UK's Playtech gained 2.8 per cent after the online gambling software developer received a takeover bid from its second-biggest shareholder Gopher Investments.

Consumer goods group Henkel fell 5.8 per cent after trimming its full-year outlook, saying it could not fully compensate for a spike in input prices.

Frankfurt-listed shares of Tesla dropped 7.3 per cent after voters on chief executive officer Elon Musk's Twitter poll favoured a sale of 10 per cent of his Tesla stocks.

REUTERS