European markets stable following record highs on Thursday

European markets hovered around the flatline as they took a bit of a breather after hitting record highs during Thursday’s trading.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.05 percent higher in midmorning deals. Utilities were the worst performing sector, down by 0.9 percent. Enel, the Italian utility firm, said Friday that large-size mergers could have a destructive economic impact. Its full-year results were in line with expectations.

The multinational oil firm Tullow Oil was at the bottom of the European benchmark, down by 15 percent. This was after news that it is launching £607 million rights issue at a 45 percent discount to its current share price as it tries to reduce its debt burden.

Investors are set to be mainly focused on politics with finance ministers and central bank governors of the G-20 gathering in Germany. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington DC. This will be their first meeting after accusations from the U.S. administration that Germany manipulates the euro to take advantage when trading with its foreign partners.

Wolfgang Schaeuble, the German finance minister, told the press following a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that Germany’s surplus was due to the fact that it doesn’t have its own currency and is not in charge of its monetary policy.

Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, warned that the world’s financial system risks suffer serious harm if policymakers fail to implement the measures drawn up to avoid a repeat of the financial crisis.

Carney fired a ‘hurry-up’ towards the world’s top finance ministers and central bankers as the G20 meeting got underway in Germany. He’s pushing them to tackle ‘shadow banking’ and risky derivatives trading.

He’s acting in his role as head of the Financial Stability Board. He warned that there “a risk of a loss of momentum” in completing, and implementing, international standards.