Europe open: Shares flat ahead of German CPI; Oersted tanks

(Sharecast News) - European shares were flat at the open on Wednesday as investors eyed German inflation numbers later in the morning. The pan-European Stoxx 600 had barely moved the needle in early trade after a strong rally late on Tuesday as US jobs data missed expectations, but spurred hopes that costs in the world's largest economy might be slowing.

''What appears to be bad news for the US economy is being notched up as good news for equities with a weakening jobs snapshot and slide in consumer confidence lifting indices," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter. "Signs of America's cooling economy have raised hopes that the pause button will be pushed on punishing interest rate hikes."

In equity news, insurer Prudential gained after posting a higher first-half operating profit, while sector peer Direct Line rose 1% after naming Aviva executive Adam Winslow as its new CEO.

Energy stocks were up on the back of higher oil prices, but Denmark's Oersted plunged after the wind farm developer revealed it could take a massive hit on its US portfolio.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com