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Profit-Taking Dulls European Bourses Midday

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European bourses tracked moderately lower midday Wednesday as traders booked profits, after broad equities indices struck record highs on Tuesday.

Tech stocks bucked trends to rise on continental trading floors, while property, food and oil shares lagged.

Investors also eyed muted Wall Street futures, and unevenly higher closes overnight on Asian exchanges.

In economic news, euro area annual inflation is expected to log at 2.8% on year in June, down from 3.2% in May, said Eurostat.

The case for another European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate increase is "receding," ECB Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch said, reported Econostream.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was off 0.3% mid-session, slipping from an all-time zenith set on Tuesday.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index was up 0.7%, but the Stoxx 600 Banks Index lost 0.3%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index eased 0.6%, while the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index declined 0.6%.

The REITE, a European REIT index, fell 0.6%.

On the national market indexes, Germany's DAX was up 0.3%, but the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.3%. The CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.6%, and Spain's IBEX 35 eased 0.7%.

Yields on benchmark 10-year German bonds were higher, near 2.93%.

Front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures were down 0.8% at $72.38 a barrel.

The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index was down 1.1% at 16.41, 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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Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH