BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets ended mixed on Thursday as investors mostly stayed cautious and refrained from making significant moves ahead of the meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the upcoming G20 summit.
Investors were also reacting to weak eurozone economic confidence data and a report showing an unexpected acceleration in Germany's consumer price inflation.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended flat. Germany's DAX edged up 0.21%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 closed lower by 0.19% and 0.13%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.22%, rebounding after recent losses.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and Ukraine closed higher, while Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkey ended weak.
Shares of Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB soared more than 13% after the company's June sales figures topped forecasts. The company also posted strong results for the second quarter.
A downward revision in the company's full-year revenue outlook dragged down shares of Chr.Hansen by nearly 14%.
Shares of German chemicals major Bayer gained more than 9% after the company said it has hired an external lawyer and set up a committee to resolve a multi-billion dollar litigation issue.
Wirecard, Infineon, BASF, Fresenius, Covestro and Thyssenkrupp were among the other notable gainers in the German market.
Adidas, Linde, Muench. Rueckvers and Vonovia ended weak.
In France, Essilor jumped more than 4%. STMicroElectronics, Carrefour, Peugeot, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale and Kering gained 1 to 1.6%, while Vivendi, Safran and Airbus Group ended notably lower.
In U.K., EasyJet rallied 5.5%. Kingfisher gained about 4%. Ocado, TUI, Vodafone Group, ITV, Marks & Spencer and Hargreaves Lansdown also posted strong gains.
On the other hand, Glencore, Rightmove, Croda International, British American Tobacco and British Land Company lost 2 to 5%.
In economic news, Eurozone economic sentiment deteriorated more-than-expected in June, survey data from the European Commission showed.
The economic sentiment index dropped to 103.3 in June from 105.2 in May. The score was forecast to fall to 104.7.
Another report from EU showed that business sentiment weakened in June as managers' production expectations, as well as their views on overall and export order books and the level of stocks deteriorated.
The corresponding index slid to 0.17 from 0.30 in May. This was also below the forecast of 0.28.
Germany's consumer price inflation increased unexpectedly in June, preliminary data from Destatis showed Thursday.
Consumer prices climbed 1.6% year-on-year in June, faster than the 1.4% increase in May. The annual growth rate was expected to remain at 1.4%.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices gained 0.3% after rising 0.2% in May. Prices were expected to rise again by 0.2%.
On U.S.-China trade dispute issue, the focus now is on the highly anticipated G20 meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Although Trump and Xi are not expected to come out of the meeting with a finalized trade deal, the meeting might help kick-start the stalled negotiations between the two economic superpowers.
A report from the Wall Street Journal said Xi plans to present Trump with a set of terms the U.S. should meet before Beijing is ready to settle the trade dispute.
Lifting the ban on the sale of U.S. technology to Chinese telecom giant Huawei, removing all tariffs and dropping efforts to get China to buy more U.S. exports are reportedly among the preconditions.
However, Trump is not likely to appreciate Xi dictating terms and has repeatedly threatened to escalate the trade war with new tariffs on the remaining Chinese imports.
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