Markets opened flat in Europe on Thursday as investors awaited the release of important unemployment-benefits and real-estate data in the Unites States. Milan\'s FTSE MIB index was up 0.05% and the All-Share was down 0.06%. The spread between Italian 10-year bonds and the German bund, an important indicator of investor confidence in Italy\'s ability to weather the euro crisis, was up four points to 422. The equivalent spread between Spanish and German bonds was up eight points to 510.