European stocks were steady as they headed for a fifth consecutive monthly gain. Traders were tracking disruptions to US futures trading caused by a data center glitch.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed by 8:07 a.m. in London, with energy shares outperforming, while banks were among the laggards. US futures were halted due to a technical issue at Chicago Mercantile Exchange data centers.
Among individual movers in Europe, Delivery Hero SE rose 6.7% as Bloomberg News reported the company is facing pressure from several large shareholders to conduct a strategic review. Allfunds Group Plc was in focus as it entered exclusive talks with Deutsche Boerse AG to be acquired for €5.3 billion in cash and stock. The stock rallied 22% on Thursday.
The main regional index is 13% higher so far this year and is trading about 1.5% away from the record level in touched earlier this month, amid resilient earnings and economic growth.
“November could end more gently than feared, but without high volume due to the shortened trading hours in the US,” said Guillermo Hernandez Sampere, head of trading at asset manager MPPM.
On the disruption to US futures halt, Hernandez Sampere said “some market participants will take advantage of possible differences in prices, but the majority will pause trading for risk reasons until the issues are resolved, otherwise losses are possible.”
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