European stocks were trading higher around midday on Wednesday as global markets gear up for Friday’s U.S. jobs report.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was trading 0.3 per cent higher at midday with the majority of sectors in positive territory. The basic resources sector was the worst performer, down 1.9 per cent.

Markets were unmoved earlier in the morning by data showing that the euro zone inflation rate remained at 0.2 per cent in August, unchanged from the previous month. The region’s unemployment rate for July also remained unchanged from the previous month, at 10.1 per cent.