European stocks slip as investors assess mixed earnings; Legrand slides

By Johann M Cherian

(Reuters) -European stocks slipped on Thursday, in what has been a shaky week for most markets globally, while disappointing results from France's Legrand stoked recent worries around

elevated valuations in tech-related companies.

The pan-European STOXX 600 slipped 0.2% to 570.98 points, as of 0909 GMT and was on track for a flat end to the week.

Equities globally had a shaky start to the week, with those in Europe sliding to a more than two-week low, as a hawkish tone from the U.S. Federal Reserve on monetary policy and fears that technology stocks were overvalued enabled some investors to book profits.

However, upbeat U.S. data in the previous session appeared to calm the broader risk-off tone and investors shifted their focus to what has been a broadly better-than-expected earnings season for Europe.

"The overall framing of it for me would be it's a pause for breath. It's not the tide sort of decisively turning against the bulls," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.

"Those momentum traders who got caught up in the downside earlier in the week, they are probably sitting on the side looking for an opportune time to buy the dip." 

Legrand , which makes equipment for data centres, slumped 11% and triggered a trading halt after reporting sales growth of 11.9% in the first nine months of the year, slightly below expectations, hit by U.S. tariffs.

Other electrical equipment makers, including Schneider Electric and Siemens Energy lost about 2% each as investors scrutinized areas in the market that have rallied recently on the back of enthusiasm for AI.

However, it was a good day for Novo Nordisk, which gained 3.6% after rival Pfizer lost a legal bid to block the Danish drugmaker's offer for Metsera , according to a source. 

Among other major earnings, Zalando jumped 8.4% after the online fashion marketplace reported a 21.6% rise in gross merchandise volume in the third quarter.

Adecco  jumped 10.2% after the staffing company reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and profit, while Rheinmetall gained 1.9% after the German arms manufacturer said it is on track to achieve its full-year sales target.

Commerzbank lost 2.7% after the lender reported an unexpected drop in third-quarter net profit, hurt by higher tax rates and costs.

On the macro front, Norway's central bank left interest rates on hold, while investors await an interest rate decision by the Bank of England later in the day.

Data showed that the German economy could stagnate this year after two years of contraction.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Mrigank Dhaniwala)