European stocks steady as investors weigh Hormuz risks, data calendar

By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Ragini Mathur

Aug 10 (Reuters) - The European share benchmark on Monday steadied around a record high close hit last week, as uncertainty around the Middle East conflict kept oil prices elevated, while investors prepared themselves for a week packed with economic data.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat at 660.09 points, as of 0848 GMT.

The benchmark climbed 1.7% last week and closed at a record high on Friday, supported by expectations of lower U.S. borrowing costs after soft jobs data and strong corporate earnings on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the Middle East, Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions before the strategic waterway is reopened, which is critical for oil-import-dependent Europe. 

Europe's energy sector was up 0.5%, with Brent crude futures rising 0.8% to $84.22 a barrel. [O/R]

Investors this week will be watching euro zone employment data and U.S. consumer price figures for clues on the interest rate outlook.

"Markets are really just in a period of digestion and wait-and-see," said Kiran Ganesh, managing director, global head of investment communications at UBS.

"U.S. CPI data (on Wednesday) will probably be the main thing that investors will be watching out for, along with any further developments in the Strait of Hormuz."

In Europe, the technology sector led the gains on Monday with a 1% rise. Infineon Technologies rose 3.8% after the German chip manufacturer launched a limited-term share buyback programme. 

On the flip side, media stocks fell 0.9%, with WPP, Publicis Group and Pearson down between 1% and 3.1%.

As the earnings season draws to a close, the latest LSEG estimates showed second-quarter STOXX 600 earnings are expected to rise nearly 21%, higher than forecasts of about 12.5% in early May.

Plus500 jumped 6% after the trading platform reported a rise in half-year core profit, aided by higher trading activity as the company expanded its U.S. business and rolled out more products.

Affordable homebuilder Vistry dropped 7.5% after the FT reported credit insurer Allianz was reducing the cover to Vistry's suppliers by up to 70%.

Aumovio gained 3.2% after Bernstein upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "market-perform" and raised its target price to €54 ($62.42) from €38.

Shares of bottler Coca-Cola HBC fell 3.3% after BNP Paribas cut its rating to "neutral" from "outperform."

($1 = 0.8651 euros)

(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Harikrishnan Nair)