Flutter names new group CFO, shares slip
UK39;s JD Sports dips on weak firstqtr LFL sales
Capgemini down on rating downgrade
STOXX 600 up 0.1

May 31 Reuters European shares struggled for direction on Friday ahead of the May inflation reading for the euro zone and an April reading for the United States that will decide the scale and timing of interest rate cuts globally.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 index was up 0.1, led by advances in telecommunications and energy shares up by 0.8 and 0.5, respectively.

Travel and leisure stocks led the losses with a 1.7 decline after world39;s largest online betting firm Flutter named a new group CFO. The stock slipped 7.8.

The benchmark index is on track for a second week of declines as yields in euro zone spiked to mirror their U.S. counterparts on worries over interest rates staying elevated for longer. The index, however, is likely to log gains on the month.

Investors are now squarely focussed on the inflation print from the euro zone at 0900 GMT, which is expected to show a slight uptick in May. A rate cut by the European Central Bank ECB in June is all but certain next week, a Reuters poll showed.

The yield on Germany39;s Bund , the euro zone benchmark, held steady near sixmonth highs and was last at 2.669 ahead of the data.

German retail sales fell more than expected in April, while French consumer prices rose 2.7 yearonyear in May, above expectations due to higher energy prices.

We still think EZ euro zone headline…