Europe stocks little changed near seven-week high on earnings

ZURICH, Aug 11 — European equities hovered near a seven-week high, with investors assessing valuations amid mixed earnings.

Zurich Insurance Group AG added 3.1 per cent after saying earnings fell less than projected. KBC Group NV advanced 5.1 per cent after posting better-than-expected profit and revenue and cutting its forecast for 2016 loan-loss provisions in Ireland. K+S AG, Europe’s biggest potash producer, slipped 4.8 per cent after saying it expects lower earnings in 2016. Thyssenkrupp AG dropped 2 per cent after Germany’s largest steelmaker reported a decline in quarterly profit, while miners fell for a second day.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped less than 0.1 per cent at 8:21am in London. The gauge yesterday halted a five-day winning streak fuelled by optimism that central banks will support growth and a better-than-forecast jobs report in the US While its valuation remains low relative to the S&P 500 Index or MSCI All-Country World Index, it has surpassed 15 times estimated earnings, approaching this year’s high.

The gauge closed 0.7 per cent lower than its June 23 level, when the UK voted to leave the European Union, lagging behind US and Asian shares that have already recovered.

Among other stocks moving on financial results, RWE AG fell 3.3 per cent after Germany’s largest power producer reported profit that missed analysts’ estimates. Henkel AG & Co. climbed 3.7 per cent after raising its profit-margin projection for the year. — Bloomberg

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