By Sara Sjolin
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets struggled to gain traction in early action on Thursday, as oil firms added pressure, while gains for heavyweight miners lent support. The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -0.06% was off 0.1% at 270.17. U.K. oil firm BG Group PLC UK:BG -1.25% weighed the most in Europe, off 1.5% after a broker downgrade. The FTSE 100 index UK:UKX -0.05% , however, traded slightly higher at 5,835.27, as miners climbed. Vedanta Resources PLC UK:VED +1.47% gained 1.3% and BHP Billiton PLC UK:BLT +0.78% BHP -1.04% added 0.6%. Elsewhere, biotech firm Novozymes AS DK:NZYMB +3.12% rose 4.3% after second-quarter earnings beat market expectations. In Germany, the DAX 30 index DX:DAX -0.09% slipped 0.1% to 6,943.02, as Bayer AG DE:BAYN +0.06% fell 0.3%. Among French stocks, France Telecom FR:FTE -0.49% lost 0.6%, while Total SA FR:FP -0.39% TOT +0.14% inched 0.4% lower. The CAC 40 index FR:PX1 -0.17% was off 0.1% at 3,445.22.
