(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon
news window)
July 24 (Reuters) - European shares opened flat on
Wednesday, hit by dour signals from Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE ,
Daimler DAIGn.DE and Aston Martin AML.L as well as a slide
in commodity-linked stocks, while investors awaited
manufacturing and services data.
Shares in Germany's biggest bank, in the midst of sweeping
changes to reboot its business, dived more than 4% after it
reported a bigger than expected loss, while those in luxury car
maker Aston sank 23% after it cut its annual forecast for
wholesale sales.
Positive signs on U.S.-China trade talks and the prospect of
a supportive message from the European Central Bank on Thursday
offset those blows, however, along with some positive earnings
such as those from French carmaker Peugeot PEUP.PA and German
chemicals maker Covestro AG 1COV.DE .
By 0712 GMT, the pan-European stocks benchmark STOXX 600
.STOXX was steady compared to the previous close.
Basic materials .SXPP slid 1.5%, with a fall in iron ore
prices and a Credit Suisse downgrade to 'underperform' taking
shares of Rio Tinto RIO.L down 3%.
Shares of Infineon IFXGn.DE , STMicroelectronics STM.MI ,
and Siltronic WAFGn.DE rose between 1.6% and 2.6% after
results from Texas Instruments Inc TXN.O hinted that a global
slowdown in microchip demand would not be as long as feared.
Chip stocks helped the technology sector .SX8P rise 0.8%.