European shares opened flat on Thursday after ECB policymakers played down market optimism around rate cuts, while investors once again waited for remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was unchanged by 0810 GMT after touching a three-week high intraday in the prior session.

Investors awaited Powell's remarks at 1900 GMT after he refrained from commenting on monetary policy on Wednesday.

ECB policymakers on Wednesday noted further progress in dampening inflation is required and companies and governments need to chip in to prevent more policy tightening.

AstraZeneca gained 1.6% after raising annual earnings forecast and reporting better-than-expected third-quarter profit and revenue.

Schneider Electric SE jumped 5.8% after its long-term outlook announcement.

Flutter dropped 8.3% as the world's largest online betting company expects full-year earnings to be at the bottom of its previously forecast range, steering a 2.2% slide in the travel & leisure sector.

(Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)