FTSE 100 down 0.39%; DAX up 0.43%; CAC 40 down 0.32% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan, 23 Jul - European shares opened little changed in cautious trade after yesterday's gains, with the Stoxx 600 index down 0.13%.

Investors monitored earnings reports from European companies including LVMH, Givaudan, Thales, Alstom, Randstad, AkzoNobel, Norsk Hydro, Banco de Sabadell and Enagas.

Political uncertainty continued to keep sentiment in check after US president Joe Biden over the weekend dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed vice president Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

The move was broadly expected after Biden's underwhelming debate performance against Donald Trump in June, and after polls recently showed the increasing likelihood of an election win by Trump in November.

Investors now looked for fresh direction after the European Central Bank last week left interest rates unchanged and indicated that a rate hike in September is 'wide open'.

Key data from the US including GDP figures are due on Thursday, while the core personal consumption expenditures index, the Federal Reserve's favoured inflation measure, will be released on Friday. The index is seen rising 0.1% in June, pulling the annual increase down a tick to 2.5%.

US stock index futures pointed to a moderately lower open after a sharp rebound yesterday, when investors hunted for bargains in technology stocks ahead of key earnings from the sector.

At 0735 GMT, the London FTSE 100 was down 0.39% at 8,167 points, the Frankfurt DAX was up 0.43% at 18,496 points, the Paris CAC 40 down 0.32% at 7,597 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB was up 0.05% at 34,631 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 was down 0.26% at 11,114 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 23-07-24 09:57:22 (0218) 5 NNNN