European stocks trade flat as Oil rally fizzles, UK GDP weighs

The stocks on the European bourses opened on a flat note and now defend mild gains, as sentiment soured after the oil price rally stalled. Both crude benchmarks moved-off multi-month highs and now slips below $ 50 mark, each up about 0.50% so far this session.

Moreover, slower pace of expansion seen in the UK economic growth in the first quarter, also weighed negatively on the investors’ sentiment. The second estimate of the UK Q1 GDP stayed at 0.4% q/q, while the yearly change slowed to 2.0% from 2.1% booked in the first estimate.

Meanwhile, Germany's DAX 30 index rises 0.22% to trade at 10,229, while the UK's FTSE 100 index trades muted around 6,264. Among the other indices, the French CAC 40 index trades +0.05% at 4,483, while the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 index trades marginally lower around 3,050 points.

Markets now look forward to the US economic releases and Fedspeaks for fresh direction on the European equity markets.