European shares steady, Deutsche Bank disappoints

London - European shares were steady on Thursday, although Deutsche Bank fell and underperformed the broader market after it warned of a record pre-tax loss in the third quarter.

Deutsche Bank's shares were down by around 2% in early session trading, underperforming a flat performance on Germany's benchmark DAX equity index and a 0.2% rise on the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index.

Deutsche Bank said it was bracing for a record pre-tax loss of €6bn in the third quarter.

The German company's problems caused the STOXX Europe 600 Bank Index to fall 0.5%, but European healthcare stocks rose 1.2% after US biotechnology companies rallied overnight in New York.