FTSE 100 up 0.40%; DAX up 0.15%; CAC 40 down 0.63% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan, 02 May - European shares were little changed in cautious midday trade, with the Stoxx 600 index up 0.10%, as trading resumed in the region after Labor Day.

Investors digested the US Federal Reserve's decision yesterday to hold interest rates steady at a range of 5.25% to 5.5% as widely expected amid sticky inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell however downplayed the possibility of a rate hike as the central bank's next move, helping lift US stocks in overnight trade, with the Dow hitting a session high of more than 500 points.

Traders also continued to monitor fresh earnings reports from European companies including Hugo Boss, Novo Nordisk, AXA, ArcelorMittal, Orsted, Vestas, Pandora, Shell and Standard Chartered as the earnings season continues in full swing.

Traders also monitored fresh data from the region.

In April, the eurozone's purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector fell to a four-month low of 45.7 from 46.1 in March, according to data released by S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank. But, the manufacturing PMI output increased to a 12-month high of 47.3 from 47.1 in March.

At 1130 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.40% at 8,153 points, the Frankfurt DAX was up 0.15% at 17,947 points. The Paris CAC 40 was down 0.63% at 7,934 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB was up 0.14% at 33,794 points and in Madrid the IBEX 35 was up 0.17% at 10,894 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 02-05-24 13:47:33 (0358) 5 NNNN