European stocks were steady in morning trade yesterday as oil prices boosted heavyweights such as BP and Total despite a steep slide on Wall Street, which was hit by a disappointing sales estimate from Wal-Mart.

Barclays fell 1.4 percent as traders said the bank’s confirmation of sustained income growth in UK banking was offset by the lack of more positive comments on bad debts. Barclays said it was on track to increase annual profit.

HSBC and LLoyds also declined, while insurer Old Mutual lost 3 percent as its nine-month operating profit missed market forecasts.

The pan-European FTSEuro first 300 index was up 0.1 percent at 1,430.9, after earlier falling in the session to 1,420.4, its lowest level since Oct 11.

The index fell 1.5 percent on yesterday, down for the fourth session in a row, but is still up 12 percent so far this year.

Yesterday, Paris’s CAC 40 added 0.2 percent, while Frankfurt’s DAX and UK’s FTSE 100 were flat.

The euro held near recent 20-month highs against the dollar, while it hit another record high versus the low-yielding yen as policymakers said they saw no grounds for concern on the euro’s exchange rate.

The euro was up 0.1 percent yesterday at $1.3143, near a 20-month high of $1.3172. Since the dollar began to slide last Wednesday, the euro has gained more than 2 percent, taking its gains for the year to around 11 %.

U.S. stock indexes tumbled the day before, registering their worst day in months, amid concerns that Google might be overvalued and doubts about holiday spending after a disappointing sales estimate from Wal-Mart Stores.

In the UK, merger and acquisition activity remained a key focus, with Spain’s Iberdrola making an offer worth a total of 777 pence for Scottish Power, slightly less than market expectations.