European Shares Subdued Ahead Of Jackson Hole Summit

(RTTNews) - European stocks were little changed on Thursday as investors looked ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium for hints of possible rate cuts this year.

In economic news, Eurozone manufacturing PMI unexpectedly returned to expansion in August, while the services sector activity declined, according to data from the HCOB's latest Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) Survey.

Elsewhere, the U.K.'s private sector expanded at the strongest pace in 12 months while the country's budget deficit narrowed in July to the lowest level for the month in three years, separate reports revealed.

The pan European STOXX 600 was marginally lower at 558.58 after three days of gains. The German DAX was marginally lower and France's CAC 40 shed 0.3 percent.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was little changed with a negative bias after rallying 1.1 percent to a fresh record close the previous day.

Paris-based ophthalmology company Nicox soared 10 percent after announcing positive results from the NCX 470 phase 3 Denali trial in glaucoma patients.

Amsterdam-listed insurer Aegon jumped 7 percent. The company swung to a €606 million net profit in the first half of 2025 from a €65 million loss a year.

WHSmith shares slumped 37 percent. The U.K. retailer cut its financial forecasts and launched an independent review after discovering "an overstatement" in profits at its U.S. arm.

Renishaw surged 9 percent. The engineering firm announced that its Group Finance Director Allen Roberts will step down at the end of the year, ending a 46-year career at the company.

Global recruitment chain Hays lost 4 percent after reporting a plunge in annual profit.

Norway's second biggest oil & gas company Aker BP rallied 3 percent after announcing a significant oil discovery in the Yggdrasil area in the Norwegian North Sea.