Europe open: Stocks start the day on a mixed footing

(Sharecast News) - European stocks were trading mixed in the early part of the session as investors waited on key US inflation data due out later in the day. At 1330 BST the US Department of Commerce was scheduled to publish PCE inflation data for June, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.

Against that backdrop, as of 0845 BST, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was edging up by 0.22% to 509.74, alongside a 0.51% gain for the Cac-40 to 7,465.0.

The Ibex 35 on the other hand was off by 0.3% at 11,112.40.

Euro/dollar and crude oil futures were flat alongside.

INSEE's consumer confidence index ticked higher by one point from the month before to reach 91 in July.

In parallel, ISTAT reported an improvement in its own gauge of Italian consumer confidence from 98.3 for June to 98.9 in July.

Retail sales in Spain were reported as up by 0.3% in annual terms during the month of June, as opposed to the 0.2% gain seen in May.