A late turnaround on Friday helped European stocks notch gains for a fifth straight session, as signs of progress in US-China trade talks and upbeat reports from luxury goods makers dispelled some fears about an earnings and growth slowdown.
After starting the day nearly flat and eventually falling as much as 0.4 percent, the main European equities benchmark, the STOXX 600, on Friday recovered to close up 0.70 points, or 0.2 percent, at 398.02, jumping 1.6 percent from a close of 391.84 on Oct. 18.
Germany’s trade-sensitive DAX on Friday rose 22.41 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,894.51, surging 2.1 percent from 12,633.60 a week earlier.
France’s CAC 40 on Friday outperformed major regional indices, gaining 37.82 points, or 0.7 percent, to 5,722.15, a jump of 1.5 percent from a close of 5,636.25 a week earlier, as Gucci owner Kering SA jumped 8.7 percent, while Italian jacket maker Moncler SpA rose 11.3 percent.
The companies joined other luxury labels in easing fears of a major third-quarter sales hit from protests in Hong Kong.
Europe’s retail index gained 1.2 percent, leading gains among major subsectors.
However, the food and beverage sector led losses on Friday, after brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV provided a cautious outlook and reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings growth, sparked by reduced demand for its beer in Brazil and South Korea.
Shares in Carlsberg A/S and Heineken NV dropped about 2 percent each.
“Today’s moves seem to have trimmed some of the progress we have seen on the week,” City Index analyst Ken Odeluga said in London. “You have a mechanical effect from that 10 percent decline in AB InBev, but you can’t really generalize. We may not see a stellar earnings season, but with expectations so low there will be more beats for sure.”
The prospect of months of more wrangling over Brexit remained as the EU failed to set a date for Britain’s departure from the bloc, while the UK’s parliament squabbled over British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for an election to break the deadlock.
EU ambassadors agreed in principle to a delay beyond deadline on Thursday next week, but would not decide the length of the extension until tomorrow or Tuesday, an official said.
London’s FTSE 100 fell for the first time in five sessions, while mid-caps and the pound weakened as Johnson on Thursday conceded for the first time that he could not meet his Brexit deadline.
The FTSE 100 on Friday fell 3.78 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,324.47, but was still up 2.4 percent from 7,150.57 a week earlier.
Shares in French tire maker Michelin gained 6 percent after it maintained its full-year profit guidance, even as it cut its forecast again for the global tire market.
Among banks, Britain’s Barclays PLC rose 2.4 percent after reporting greater than expected third-quarter earnings.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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