European stocks were flat on Thursday after their worst two-day sell-off since March, as investors balanced concerns about the impasse over the US debt ceiling and the global economic slowdown with optimism about positive corporate earnings.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat at 0707 GMT after losing about 2.5% over the past two days, driven by a sell-off in luxury stocks and scant progress in talks to raise the US debt ceiling and end defaults.
Ratings agency Fitch on Wednesday identified the creditworthiness of the United States for a possible downgrade.
European chipmakers won Thursday after Nvidia Corp., the world’s most valuable chipmaker, forecast quarterly revenue 50% above Wall Street estimates.
BE Semiconductor shares jumped 6.5% and ASM International rose 6.3%. The broader technology index rose 1.7%.
The German DAX index fell after data showed that the German economy contracted in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the previous three months, which heralds a recession. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
