European markets traded negative Thursday midday, losing recent positive momentum, as investors focused on the forthcoming speech by the Federal Reserve’s Chairman Jerome Powell, CNBC reports. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was trading 0.3 percent lower around midday London timeShares of French conglomerate Bouygues were up 2.3 percen after it reported a lower-than-expected operating loss in its first-half results. Meanwhile, shares of engines maker Rolls Royce fell by 6 percent after it posted a £3.2 billion (US$4.2 billion) pretax loss for the first half of the year, said it planned asset sales and announced the departure of its CFO. Shares of advertising giant WPP were up over 4 percent after the company posted a lower-than-expected fall in underlying net sales and resumed its dividend.

Source: The Standard August 27, 2020 13:10 UTC