European equities edge ahead in cautious deals

LONDON: European stock markets broadly crept ahead Wednesday but lost some ground in afternoon trading despite strong US jobs data on the eve of a eurozone interest rate decision.
Trading was marked also by several initial public offerings in Europe.
Wall Street opened on a steady note after breaking record highs on Tuesday and reacting calmly to strong US jobs data which pushed up the dollar.
Europe's main stock markets closed mixed, with Frankfurt's DAX 30 up 0.09 per cent to 9,911.27 points.
London's FTSE 100 index of top companies ended up 0.20 per cent at 6,816.37 while the CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.37 per cent to 4,444.72 points compared to Tuesday's closing levels.
The euro fell to $1.3652 from $1.3677 late on Tuesday in New York, while the pound hit another near six-year high at $1.7177 on expectations of a British interest rate rise.
Meanwhile: Asian markets also advanced on Wednesday, taking a strong lead from a record close on Wall Street which was buoyed by solid Chinese manufacturing data.
Later on Wednesday, investors will digest a speech from US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen for clues on the interest rate outlook.
Seasonally adjusted US private sector jobs data on Wednesday showed the biggest increase of 281,000 since November 2012, far above the expected figure of 200,000.
That data came ahead of the government's employment report on Thursday.
"Today is likely to be a day of holding back ahead of tomorrow's key events, principally the US employment report together with the European Central Bank meeting," said economist Simon Smith at broker FXPro.
US financial markets will be closed on Friday for Independence Day.
The European Central Bank will also announce the outcome of its monetary policy meeting on Thursday, but is expected to sit tight one month after launching anti-deflationary measures and negative deposit interest rates.
In company news on Wednesday, telecom shares slid in Paris after Orange said it had decided not to play a role in consolidating the French telecoms market, with the effect that it would not buy its French rival Bouygues Telecom.
The news sent shares in Orange -- formerly known as France Telecom -- down 3.52 per cent to 11.38 euros.
Bouygues shares shed 1.96 per cent to 29.75 euros. Stock in Iliad which owns Free fell by 3.45 per cent, and Numericable shares were down 2.51 per cent.
In Paris, an initial public offering for professional social media firm Viadeo flopped with the shares falling 16.96 per cent to 14.20 euros. This followed weak starts for recent French launches of the Euronext stock market operator, and Worldline, the payments terminal activities of computer service consultancy Atos.
US shares had climbed overnight in response to news out of China suggested a growth slowdown may have bottomed out.
Traders were also boosted by surprisingly strong figures for US auto sales.
New York's Dow Jones Industrial Average index climbed 0.77 per cent and the S&P 500 added 0.67 per cent -- both ending at all-time highs. The Nasdaq jumped 1.14 per cent.
Wall Street was catching its breath on Wednesday, with the Dow up 0.08 and the Nasdaq climbing 0.04 per cent by mid-morning. The S&P had also gained 0.08 per cent.
In foreign exchange trading, the euro slipped to 79.53 British pence from 79.75 pence Tuesday. It was steady at 138.91 yen from 138.88 on Tuesday, but the dollar rose to 101.75 yen from 101.53.
Analysts attributed the rise of the dollar to the strong US job creation data on Wednesday.
The yuan was unchanged at 6.2103 to the dollar.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold dipped to $1,326.50 an ounce from $1,327.50 on Tuesday.