European shares remain near eight-month high

European shares were flat on Wednesday, remaining just off an eight-month high, supported by a rise in Weir Group and well-received company results which helped to counteract weak data out of Germany.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was flat in percentage terms at 349.43. The index hit its highest level since January on Monday, before weak data from the United States saw it fall back in the previous session.

Weak data also hindered stocks on Wednesday, and Germany’s Dax underperformed slight gains for other euro zone indexes after German industrial production unexpectedly fell in July.

It recorded its steepest fall in 23 months. The top Stoxx 600 riser was Weir Group, after Morgan Stanley raised the engineering group to “overweight” from “equal weight”. Equipment rental firm Ashtead rose 2.8 percent after it said it saw full-year results coming in ahead of expectations.