European stocks largely flat; investors wary ahead of central bank meetings

European stock markets traded largely unchanged Thursday, with investors wary about the state of the global economy ahead of next week’s crucial central bank meetings. European investors appear reluctant to engage in much activity as the week nears the end, having been rattled by downbeat comments from top executives at a number of senior banks, predicting that tightening monetary conditions will likely result in a global recession in 2023. Next week sees policy-setting meetings by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, and these two senior central banks are both expected to lift interest rates to tackle inflation still at elevated levels.