BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks were little changed in cautious trade on Thursday after the country's April composite PMI dropped to 11.2 from 28.9 in March, marking the lowest reading since the benchmark began in 1998.
Investors now await the outcome of a European Union video summit later in the day, with the bloc's leaders expected to agree on a shared fiscal response to a recession looming as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up 9 points, or 0.20 percent, at 4,420 after gaining 1.3 percent the previous day.
Total SA shares rose nearly 3 percent as oil prices rebounded from historic lows on signs of production cuts.
Schneider Electric gained about half a percent. The electrical equipment group reported a drop in first-quarter revenues and suspended guidance for 2020, as a consequence of the global Covid-19 crisis.
Groupe Renault advanced 1.4 percent despite reporting a 19 percent fall in first-quarter revenue.
Rexel, a distributor of electrical supplies, soared 6.8 percent after reporting a marginal fall in sales for the first quarter of 2020.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX