European shares flat after mixed corporate results

European shares were flat in early trading on Wednesday as investors parsed through a mixed bag of corporate results, with rising Brexit uncertainty and trade tensions limiting the gains.

The banking sector fell 0.8%, led by Swedish banks, as Handelsbanken fell on poor results, while Swedbank slipped after cutting its shareholder pay-out policy. The tech sector outperformed the broader market after ASML reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

The sector rose was up 0.6%, also helped by gains in mobile network gear maker Ericsson, which said it was on-track for 2020 targets as second-quarter profit matched. The pan-European stocks benchmark slipped 0.07% at 0711 GMT, in what could be its first day of decline in four days.