European stock markets were mixed early Thursday as investors continued to monitor developments surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's pro-growth agenda. The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat in early morning deals with sectors and major bourses mixed. Retail shares were one of the best performers shortly after the open as several retailers posted earnings reports. British clothing firm Next said it was "extremely cautious" for the year ahead and reported a fall in profits of 3.8 percent. Next had previously warned in January the company's profits were due to fall. Its shares spiked by over 1.8 percent on Thursday. Gemalto hit the bottom of the benchmark for the second consecutive session after HSBC bank downgraded its "buy" recommendation for investors to "hold". The Dutch digital security firm was down over 5.3 percent. In the U.K., four people died and 40 people were injured on Wednesday after a suspected terrorist drove a car along a pavement in Westminster, London and then stabbed a policeman. Sterling dropped to a six-day low against the dollar on the news though has since rebounded to $1.2485. On the data front, U.K. retail sales data are scheduled to be released at around 9.30 a.m. London time. Germany's consumer sentiment is expected to fall for the second consecutive month in April after a pickup in headline inflation figures, GfK market research reported in a survey. It sees the sentiment index falling to 9.8 points in next month, down from 10.0 in March. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is due to deliver a keynote speech at the Federal Reserve System Community Development Research Conference at approximately midday London time. In Germany, the European Central Bank will host a General Council meeting in Frankfurt on Thursday. Source: CNBC
