BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks were holding steady on Thursday after British MPs voted to reject the possibility of the U.K. leaving the European Union without a withdrawal agreement in place, paving the way for another vote today that could delay Brexit until at least the end of June.
Meanwhile, investors shrugged off a mixed bag of key data from China.
China's industrial output grew an annual 5.3 percent in the first two months of 2019, a government report showed. This marked the slowest pace of growth in 17 years and fell short of expectations for a score of 5.5 percent.
At the same time, retail sales and fixed asset investment data topped forecasts.
The benchmark DAX was marginally higher at 11,573 in opening deals after rising 0.4 percent the previous day.
Deutsche Lufthansa slumped over 6 percent after its fourth-quarter net profit fell and the airline cut is growth plans.
Utility firm RWE declined 1.8 percent after its adjusted EBITDA for the full-year slid to 1.5 billion euros from last year's 2.1 billion euros.
Specialty chemicals company Lanxess lost 3 percent as it posted flat operating earnings in the fourth quarter.
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