European stock markets steady, supported by some solid earnings

LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - European shares were steady on Thursday, with strong earnings reports from some companies supporting the market which had risen in the previous session.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index was flat in early trading, having closed up 0.5 percent the previous day.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Vestas Wind Systems (Other OTC: VWDRY - news) rose 4.3 percent, the top gainer on the FTSEurofirst, after reporting a stronger-than-expected third-quarter operating profit before special items and raising its 2015 profit outlook.

French bank Societe Generale (Swiss: 519928.SW - news) also advanced 4 percent after its third-quarter income rose 2.4 percent as growth at its retail network and lower risk provisions helped offset weakness in investment banking.

On the downside, Adecco (VTX: ADEN.VX - news) fell 8.8 percent after the world's biggest staffing group posted a surprise half-billion euro net loss in the third quarter due to a 740 million euro ($804.53 million) impairment of goodwill.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)