European stocks flat; eyes best quarter since 1999
* FTSEurofirst 300 flat after hitting one-week high
* Carrefour sags on disappointment at analyst day
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PARIS, June 30 (Reuters) - European stocks were flat at midday on Tuesday, as a drop in retail and food stocks such as Carrefour (CARR.PA) eclipsed gains in pharma shares, led by Sanofi-Aventis's (SASY.PA) rebound from last week's selloff.
Shares in Carrefour, the world's second-largest retailer, dropped 2 percent on disappointment the company had not, so far, unveiled a big cost-cutting programme at an analyst day in Paris.
Other retailers and food and drinks groups lost ground, with Tesco (TSCO.L) down 1.1 percent, Heineken (HEIN.AS) down 2.1 percent and Unilever (UNc.AS) down 1.4 percent.
At 1137 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 0.03 percent at 859.34 points.
The index, which is up 3.3 percent this year, has surged 33 percent since plummeting to a record low in early March, but the spring rally has stalled since early May, as mixed macroeconomic data dampened hopes of speedy economic recovery.
"Equities will remain stuck in the range that we've seen over the past few weeks, with high volatility and low volumes, as people are waiting for more visibility," said Victor Peiro Perez, head of strategy at Caja Madrid Bolsa.
"That should go on at least until we get the second-quarter results and outlook from companies."
The FTSEurofirst 300 is on track to record a 17 percent gain on the quarter -- its best quarterly performance since 1999. But Europe's benchmark index is still down 47 percent from a multi-year high reached in mid-2007.
But while the spring rally lost steam over the past few weeks, investors continued to pour money into equities.
A Reuters survey on Tuesday showed fund managers in continental Europe pulled capital out of cash in June and boosted stock holdings to their highest since August.
The monthly survey of 14 investment houses in the region, released on Tuesday, showed equity holdings rose to 47.1 percent of their portfolios this month from 45.9 percent in May. [ID:nLT491568]
EARNINGS SEASON KEY
A number of analysts say the real test for the equity rally will be the second-quarter earnings season. The results were expected to be relatively bad, but investors will look for any signs of a turnaround in profit.
"One of the factors driving renewed investor pessimism is to do with earnings, where the view is that expectations have moved too far too fast, setting the scene for a disappointment," said JPMorgan strategist Mislav Matejka in a note.
"There were some high profile negative pre-announcements over the past few weeks, and it is highly likely there will be more, but in contrast to the popular perception, the pre-announcement season has been rather benign so far."
On Tuesday, investors were digesting grim economic data that showed euro zone bank lending has stalled and Japanese unemployment at its highest level for six years, adding to worries over the outlook for the global economy.
Pharmaceutical shares gained ground, with Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA) up 2.6 percent, paring some of its recent hefty losses sparked by worries over one of the company's main drugs, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) up 1.5 percent.
Banks were also on the upside, with Barclays (BARC.L) up 2.1 percent, UBS (UBSN.VX) up 1.6 percent and UniCredit (CRDI.MI) up 1 percent.
So far this year, the DJ STOXX energy index .SXEP is up 9 percent, and the banking index .SX7P is up 21 percent, while the health care .SXDP index is down 4.6 percent.
Around Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index .FTSE was flat, Germany's DAX index .GDAXI was down 0.1 percent, and France's CAC 40 .FCHI was down 0.1 percent. (Editing by Dan Lalor)
