UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

Shell shares slide, but Adidas shares gain after results

European stocks searched for direction Thursday, as investors grappled with a stream of corporate earnings reports from key companies such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Adidas AG.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was off less than 1 point at 342.61 as it swayed between gains and losses. The pan-European index on Wednesday finished up by 0.4% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-gain-as-french-shares-pop-higher-but-deutsche-bank-falls-2016-07-27), led by a surge in French equities.

Meanwhile, the euro was buying $1.1105, up from $1.0998 late Wednesday in New York, with the prospect of central bank action in focus. The U.S. dollar fell against the shared currency and the yen as investors awaited word about monetary policy from the Bank of Japan on Friday.

Late Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept the door open for an interest-rate hike in September (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-appears-more-open-to-september-rate-hike-2016-07-27), saying near-term risks to its outlook have diminished.

Earnings updates: Dialog Semiconductor (DLG.XE) shares were among the worst performing of Thursday's session. They tumbled 8.2% after the British chip maker warned that its full-year 2016 revenue may fall about 15% compared with a year ago due to "the continuing softness in smartphone market demand."

Also in the red were shares of Shell (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) . They slumped 4% after the oil major posted a slide in second-quarter profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shell-profit-falls-93-amid-low-oil-prices-2016-07-28), saying "lower oil prices continue to be a significant challenge across the business, particularly in the upstream." The oil major's adjusted earnings of $1.05 billion fell short of a $2.27 billion estimate drawn from a Wall Street Journal poll of analysts.

The decline in Shell shares weighed on the U.K.'s FTSE 100 , which shed 0.1% at 6,743.66. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-tilts-lower-as-shell-lloyds-fall-after-earnings-reports-2016-07-28)

But advancers in European trade included Adidas (ADS.XE) , whose shares jumped 4.1%. The German athletic-wear maker raised its guidance for the fourth time this year, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/adidas-ups-guidance-again-on-strong-sales-2016-07-28) aided by gains from the early end of its partnership with British soccer club Chelsea. Adidas forecast its net profit would rise at a rate of between 35% and 39% for the full year.

Shares of Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.EB) picked up 1.2% as the Swiss banking giant unexpectedly swung to a second-quarter profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/credit-suisse-swings-to-surprise-profit-2016-07-28) of 170 million Swiss francs as its expenses dropped.

Indexes: Germany's DAX 30 was up 3 points at 10,322.83, and France's CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 4,458.57.

Spain's IBEX 35 lost 0.9% to 8,583.50, while Italy's FTSE MIB gave up 0.7% to 16,749.13.

Data: Germany's unemployment rate dropped by more than expected in July (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-unemployment-declines-in-july-2016-07-28), with total joblessness down by 7,000 in adjusted terms.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2016 05:40 ET (09:40 GMT)

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