European equity markets were mostly flat Tuesday, with the pan-continent STOXX 600 index around 572 points and Germany’s DAX down slightly.

The lack of direction followed a 1 % rally in the prior session and reflects investor caution as corporate earnings roll in.

Some sectors posted modest gains: real estate stocks rose about 0.8 % backed by strong rent-signings at Segro, while banks and utilities edged up.

Meanwhile, chemicals, mining and healthcare stocks weighed on performance, with headline weakness in select earnings.

Corporate updates were mixed: Assa Abloy climbed after outperforming profit estimates; HSBC rose on a new UK CEO appointment; and Edenred jumped sharply thanks to strong sales. In contrast, Eurofins Scientific slumped after disappointing growth.

Underlying sentiment is cautious: analysts note that European earnings growth is slowing markedly, with the outlook for third quarter profit growth revised downward to just 0.2 % year-on-year significantly weaker than expectations earlier in the year.

With trade tensions, inflation and debt pressures still looming, many investors are waiting for clearer earnings surprises or macro-data breakthroughs before committing to strong directional bets in continental stocks.

Source: Reuters.