European shares muted as mining gains offset Middle East jitters 

Aug 19 (Reuters) - European ‌shares were ​flat ​on Wednesday due to Middle East uncertainty, while gains in basic resources stocks, ‌supported by higher gold prices, provided some support ⁠ahead of the release of minutes from the U.S. ‌Federal Reserve's July meeting.

The ‌pan-European STOXX 600 was flat at 652.07, as of 0715 GMT.

Basic resources rose 0.6%, tracking higher ​gold prices as investors awaited the Fed's July meeting minutes for fresh clues on ⁠the outlook for U.S. interest rates. [GOL/]

On the flip side, technology stocks fell ​the most among sectors, down 0.4% after a bond sell-off pushed yields higher, ​while reports that Anthropic's annual ‌revenue run-rate reached $65 billion at the end of July failed to meet some ⁠lofty investor expectations, prompting selling in semiconductor stocks.

Soitec led losses with a 4.4% fall. Nordic Semiconductor and ⁠Scout24 fell between 2.1% and 2.3%.

Elsewhere, U.S. President Donald Trump ​said on Tuesday that no talks were taking place with Iran and insisted the Strait of Hormuz was open, ‌contradicting Iran's assertion that the critical waterway remained shut to shipping.

Meanwhile, in Britain, ‌the annual rate of consumer price inflation increased ⁠in July to ‌2.9% from a ​15-month low of 2.6% in June.

(Repoeting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi ‌Aich)

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