Picture used for illustrative purpose. File

European stocks opened largely flat as investors parsed through a deluge of earnings reports from major lenders like Deutsche Bank and Barclays, while waiting to hear from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The pan-European STOXX 600 slipped 0.1% by 0716 GMT, oil & gas and chemical leading the declines, while a 1.2% jump in retailers helped counter the losses.

German lender Deutsche Bank AG rose 1.3%, while Britain's Barclays Plc slipped 1.6% as they set aside more funds to protect for potential loan losses as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll, but both showed improvement at the investment bank. 

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UK retailer Next jumped 8.9% and French luxury group Kering rose 5.3% after reporting a smaller-than-expected decline in quarterly sales.

Chemicals giant BASF SE was down 4.2% after saying it still could not provide guidance for full-year sales and earnings due to uncertainty over the economic fallout from the pandemic. 

Reuters