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July 29 (Reuters) - European stocks opened largely flat as
investors parsed through a deluge of earnings reports from major
lenders like Deutsche Bank and Barclays , while waiting to hear
from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX slipped 0.1% by 0716
GMT, oil & gas .SXEP and chemical .SX4P leading the
declines, while a 1.2% jump in retailers .SXRP helped counter
the losses.
German lender Deutsche Bank AG DBKGn.DE rose 1.3%, while
Britain's Barclays Plc BARC.L slipped 1.6% as they set aside
more funds to protect for potential loan losses as the
coronavirus pandemic takes its toll, but both showed improvement
at the investment bank. UK retailer Next NXT.L jumped 8.9% and French luxury group
Kering PRTP.PA rose 5.3% after reporting a
smaller-than-expected decline in quarterly sales. Chemicals giant BASF SE BASFn.DE was down 4.2% after
saying it still could not provide guidance for full-year sales
and earnings due to uncertainty over the economic fallout from
the pandemic.