07:40 AM EDT, 03/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European bourses tracked evenly midday Wednesday as traders awaited fresh market catalysts, and weighed softening interest rates on benchmark sovereign bonds.

Retail and tech issues gained, while property and oil stocks lagged.

Investors also eyed Wall Street futures signaling green, and higher closes overnight on Asian exchanges, excepting China stock markets.

The European Central Bank is "increasingly confident" that inflation in the Eurozone will reach the bank's 2% annual inflation target by mid-2025, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said, addressing an event in Brussels.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was steady mid-session, hewing close to an all-time record high.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index was up 0.4%, but the Stoxx 600 Banks Index lost 0.3%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index was off 0.8%, but the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index inclined 0.1%.

The REITE, a European REIT index, fell 0.6%, but the Stoxx Europe 600 Retail Index inclined 1.5%.

On the national market indexes, Germany's DAX was up 0.3% and trading at record high. The FTSE 100 in London was down 0.3%, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.1%, and Spain's IBEX 35 gained 0.5%.

Yields on benchmark 10-year German bonds were lower, near 2.31%.

Front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures were down 0.5% to $85.17 per barrel.

The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index was down 0.3% to 12.42, indicating below-average volatility for European stock markets in the next 30 days, a positive signal. A reading above 20 indicates choppier markets ahead, while below 20 suggests calmer exchanges.

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