European shares were flat on Wednesday as strong results from Nestle boosted food company stocks and made up for disappointing earnings from a clutch of firms, including French luxury group Kering and Dutch semiconductor company ASML.
After years of complaints that there were no rules to determine what constitutes a "sustainable" investment, investors now fret there will soon be too many to navigate easily.
Chipmaker GlobalFoundries, owned by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co, is aiming for a valuation of about $25 billion in its initial public offering in the United States.
Chinese growth and corporate earnings in the United States and Europe, including results from the big-hitting FAANGs, will give markets plenty to digest in the week ahead, while Turkey's central bank is set to meet after another midnight reshuffle.
European stocks rose on Thursday, hitting the highest in more than two weeks as investors bet a steady economic recovery from the pandemic-induced slump will support corporate earnings despite signs of elevated inflation.