UPDATE 2-European shares nudge up, earnings a mixed bag

* Texas Instruments' warning hits chipmakers
* Lawmakers reject PM Johnson's Brexit timetable
* Mining stocks up on Norsk Hydro earnings
* Auto stocks gain on PSA earnings

(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon
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By Sruthi Shankar
Oct 23 (Reuters) - European shares struggled to make headway
on Wednesday as investor concerns about a further delay to
Britain's departure from the EU offset gains for London's
exporter-heavy FTSE 100 from a weaker pound and some decent
corporate earnings.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed just 0.1%
higher, with technology stocks .SX8P among the biggest drags
after a sales warning from U.S. chipmaker Texas Instruments
TXN.O hit its European peers.
Shares in Infineon IFXGn.DE , Dialog DLGS.DE and
STMicroelectronics STM.MI fell between 0.4% and 2.8% after the
sector proxy forecast a 10-17% drop in current-quarter revenue.
Mining stocks .SXPP jumped 1%, lifted by a
smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit at aluminum
producer Norsk Hydro NHY.OL . The Peugeot and Citroen manufacturer PSA Group PEUP.PA
gained 3.2% after reporting a rise in third-quarter revenue on
strong demand for its pricier SUV models. "Broadly, I would say results are probably mixed. No
dramatic trends," said Niall Gallagher, investment director at
GAM.
As well as Peugeot, Gallagher highlighted positive earnings
updates from Louis Vuitton owner LVMH LVMH.PA and
semiconductor equipment maker ASML ASML.AS last week as
encouraging signs.
"They're evidence that growth remains fairly attractive," he
added.
London's blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE gained 0.7% as exporters
on the index got a boost from a weaker pound after Prime
Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal hit a new snag. FTSE midcap
stocks .FTMC closed flat.
Britain's parliament rejected Johnson's tight timetable to
legislate on the agreement before a Oct. 31 deadline, leaving EU
leaders to consider whether to grant Britain a further
three-month Brexit extension. European stock markets have been rattled in the past few
months by geopolitical concerns, a prolonged U.S.-China trade
war and a manufacturing recession in Germany, the bloc's biggest
economy.
After a solid 12% gain in the first quarter, the STOXX 600
index lost steam, adding 1.5% in Q2 and 2% in Q3. It is up 0.3%
since the start of October.
Analysts expect a drop of as much as 5.3% in third-quarter
corporate profits, worse than the 3.7% fall expected a week ago,
according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Heineken HEIN.AS shares lost 3.1% after the world's second
largest brewer said operating profit this year would be at the
lower end of its previous forecast. Shares in Swedbank SWEDa.ST fell 4.5% after it reported a
bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly earnings, while shares in
Germany's Carl Zeiss Meditec AFXG.DE tumbled 8.8% after its
full-year EBIT margin fell short of its latest guidance.
Among the stronger performers, Danish jewellery maker
Pandora PNDORA.CO jumped 16%, with traders pointing to an
upgrade to "hold" by brokerage Carnegie.
Swiss engineering firm ABB ABBN.S gained 3.5% after its
third-quarter profit fell by less than expected, even as it
warned that conditions were weakening in the United States and
China, its two biggest markets.