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July 12 (Reuters) - European shares were little changed in
early trade on Friday, as investors parsed through China trade
data that came in at market open, an indicator of global
economic growth, while a profit warning from Daimler knocked
down auto stocks.
China's yuan-denominated exports rose 6.1% in the first half
of this year from a year earlier, while imports increased 1.4%,
customs data showed, which resulted in a trade surplus of 1.23
trillion yuan ($178.94 billion) for the first six
months. The data comes after a spate of disappointing economic
reports from around the globe, which showed that the global
economy suffered from a protracted U.S.-China trade war that
forced major central banks to take a more accommodative stance.
The pan-European stocks benchmark .STOXX was flat at 0712
GMT with auto stocks .SXAP down 0.6%.
Daimler DAIGn.DE slipped 2.7% after the luxury carmaker
warned investors it expected to swing to a second-quarter loss
before interest and taxes of 1.6 billion euros. Healthcare stocks .SXDP slipped as drugmakers resumed
their slide after the White House said it was ditching a key
plan to lower U.S. drug prices and raising the possibility of
new measures focused on drugmakers.